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Nuclear
blackmail: Who is the 'dirty Harry' in Lanka?
The charge is made in a cover story in today's issue of the India Today magazine. The five-page report says, "Pakistani investigators believe Khan operated through a host of frontmen and middlemen in several countries to ship nuclear equipment and components to these countries. Among them is alleged to be a Sri Lankan national Buhari Syed Abu Tahir residing in Dubai, whose father was a close friend of Khan." The report reveals: "In a hilarious twist, Tahir complained to Khan of being blackmailed by a Sri Lankan intelligence officer called Harry Jayawardene and coughed up $ 1.7 million. Khan was reportedly enraged when he heard this. Such was Khan's pomposity that, India Today learns, on March 11, 2003, he wrote a four-page letter to Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe complimenting him on his peace efforts and then outlining the entire blackmail episode and requesting him to take action against the official." Inquiries by The Sunday Times yesterday failed to identify any officer by the name of Harry Jayawardene in any of Sri Lanka's intelligence agencies. However, it is not clear whether the name referred to an official in any investigating arms of the police service or to someone else having dealings with businessman Tahir. Further inquiries by The Sunday Times have established that Mr. Tahir was a Sri Lankan national and held Sri Lankan passport M 1754102 and was born on April 17, 1959. Though born in Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, he had come to Sri Lanka when he was five years old. Meanwhile,
Mr. Tahir's activities are also being investigated by Lankan intelligence
operatives attached to the Defence Ministry's Directorate of Foreign
Intelligence. His activities of the 44-year-old businessman, are
also being probed by Interpol, Police Chief Indra de Silva said. |
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