Pakistan bank denies terror link

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One of Pakistan's largest banks has denied allegations by the wife of a murdered US journalist that it played a part in his 2002 abduction and murder.

The Habib Bank has also denied giving financial services to al-Qaeda.

Mariane Pearl is suing the bank for damages, alleging it transferred funds to an Islamic charity which was linked to the killing of her husband, Daniel.

Court papers filed in the US said that a charity trustee owned the property where Mr Pearl's body was found.

"This is totally wrong. I strongly deny that," Zafar Aziz Osmani, the bank's senior executive vice president, told the Reuters news agency.

"As an institution, we have never been involved in supporting any terrorist organisation."

'Unsubstantiated'

Mr Osmani said that at the time of the murder, the bank was owned by the government of Pakistan, "which cannot be involved in such activities".

I am looking for the truth of what happened to Daniel Mariane Pearl

He said the allegations filed by Mariane Pearl in New York were not substantiated by any evidence.

"The allegations are not against one branch in New York, but against the bank as an institution and without any evidence," he told the AFP news agency.

Daniel Pearl was murdered while investigating radical Muslim groups.

He worked for the Wall Street Journal.

Among those being sued by Mariane Pearl is British-born Islamist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani court for his role in the abduction and murder.

Three others were given life imprisonment. Their appeals are pending.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was sentenced to death for the killing

Another defendant is the alleged al-Qaeda mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is currently in US custody at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.

The Pentagon says that Mr Mohammed confessed to the beheading of the US journalist during a US military hearing earlier this year.

'Emotional destruction'

In the court documents filed in New York, Mrs Pearl alleges the Karachi-based Habib Bank knowingly conducted financial transactions on behalf of the al-Rashid Trust which, she says, was linked to "terrorist groups".

The document says the bank "aided and abetted" people that "carried out the kidnapping, ransom, torture, execution and dismemberment of Daniel Pearl and broadcast those images nationwide".

It seeks unspecified damages for acts it alleges were intended to "emotionally destroy the Pearl family and terrorise, appal and frighten American citizens".

Mrs Pearl's story has recently been made into a film, A Mighty Heart, starring Angelina Jolie, which is soon to be released.

Pakistan's government holds a 49% stake in Habib Bank, although correspondents say it plans to sell up to 7.5% of that later this month.

In a statement, Mariane Pearl said: "I am looking for the truth of what happened to Daniel, for our family, our friends, and the public record.

"This process allows us to delve deeper into the investigation, and to bring accountability and punishment to those involved with his kidnapping, torture and murder."