KARACHI: The Habib Bank Ltd denied on Thursday allegations by the widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl that it transferred funds on behalf of charities supporting “terrorist organisations”.

Mariane Pearl filed a lawsuit at a US court on Wednesday against Al Qaeda, other radical groups and Habib Bank Ltd over the 2002 abduction, torture and murder of her husband.

“This is totally wrong. I strongly deny it,” Zafar Aziz Osmani, senior executive vice president at the bank, told Reuters. “As an institution, we have never been involved in supporting any terrorist organisation.”

“The issue is related to 2002, and the bank was until recently in government control, and obviously any government-controlled organisation cannot go for any fishy business,” Osmani said, AP reported.

Mariane Pearl alleged in the lawsuit that Habib Bank and its subsidiaries knowingly conducted financial transactions on behalf of charities linked to extremist groups.

Among those sued is Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was convicted and sentenced to death for his role in the abduction and murder. Three others were jailed for life.

The complaint names extremist groups Harakatul Mujahedeen, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Al Qaeda as being implicated and accuses Al Rashid Trust and Al Akhtar Trust International of financing the defendants through accounts held at Habib Bank.

The government holds a 49 percent stake in the Habib Bank, though it plans to sell up to 7.5 percent of the bank through an initial public offering later this month.
Source: Daily Ti mes
Date:7/20/2007