Britain is engaged in secret negotiations with Pakistan to swap a terrorist suspect who is wanted for questioning over the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airlines in August 2006.

The sample edition of the REAL NEWSpaper (February 2, 2007) reported on the rather inflated stance of nominating Rashid Rauf the mastermind of the "shampoo bomb" plot that was allegedly stopped at the very last minute in August 2006.
Rauf, originally from Birmingham, was arrested by Pakistani police for his alleged role in the "shampoo bombing" - which was claimed to be the worst single act of terror the world would have seen, if British authorities had not prevented it. According to officials in Pakistan, Rauf was picked up near Islamabad airport on August 10, 2006, when he gave a false name and produced a false ID card. But his lawyer and family claim that he was pulled off a bus travelling from Bahawalpur to Multan several days earlier. He was charged in Pakistan with possession of 29 bottles of hydrogen peroxide and the possession of fake South African identity papers.
Rauf's family in Pakistan say the charges against him have been "cooked up". Rauf's trial in December 2006 was stopped when the judge stated the prosecution had not shown any evidence whatsoever that Rauf was a terrorist. But Rauf is nevertheless still being held in a high-security jail in Rawalpindi, outside Pakistan's capital, and the authorities are preventing his lawyer and relatives from visiting. All attempts by British consular staff to see Rauf have been rebuffed because Pakistan does not recognise dual nationality.
Rauf is however a legitimate suspect in a murder investigation in Birmingham. The local police told the British government that despite there being no evidence for his involvement in the shampoo bombing plot, it should seek extradition for Rauf, so that they can question him in a Birmingham murder investigation. And it seems that finally the British government is acting.

"The Guardian" reported on March 28, 2007, that the British government is now demanding the extradition of Rashid Rauf. But ministers in Pakistan have responded by asking for something in return. In a proposed swap, they are calling for the extradition of up to eight people living in the UK, who they claim are involved in an uprising in the western oil-rich province of Baluchistan. Among those whom the Pakistanis want extradited are Mehran Baluch and Ghazian Marri, who have been labelled leading figures in the nationalist movement in Baluchistan.
Marri's friends say he was arrested in Dubai in March 2006 at the request of the Pakistan authorities, but released four months later because they were unable to present any evidence. He remains at liberty. Baluch, 33, lives in London and is the chairman of the Baluchistan Rights Movement. He has lived in the UK for more than twenty years, has a British passport and speaks regularly at United Nations conferences on the human rights of the Baluchi population. Baluchi states the only offence he has ever committed is standing up for human rights - which is not an offence at all. Hence, it is clear that various individuals are once again pawns in two governments wanting to continue to show its commitment to "catch serious culprits". Just like Rauf is not part of a non-existent shampoo bomb plot, Baluch and Marri are equally innocent of any crimes in Baluchistan. Such considerations may not enter the debates between the two governments.