A MAN from Batley has been arrested in Lahore , Pakistan in a swoop on suspected terrorists in the wake of the London bombings.
The man - believed to be Haroon Rashid Aswat- was one of a number held by Pakistan officials working with Western security forces.
It is believed police linked Aswat with mobile phone calls to some of the suicide bombers who struck two weeks ago today.
But today, his family say they had not heard from him for 10 years.
Speaking outside the modest terraced family home in Warwick Road, Batley, his brother, who refused to be named, said they no longer had any contact with the suspected extremist.
So far police in the UK have not officially released the name of a British man, thought to be a major al Qaida figure with close links to the bombers, who was arrested in Pakistan.
His brother said the family did not want to say much until it was confirmed he was involved.
He said they had not been contacted by police and knew nothing about Haroon's apparent involvement until they were informed by the media.
Aswat's brother told reporters: "We do not have a full report. We're just as unaware
as you are."
But when told his brother had been linked to the London bomb attacks he said he was not shocked.
"He has been a stranger from us for 10 years," he said.
He claimed his brother had left recession-hit Batley in search of work.
"The business prospects in Batley are limited. That was one of the main reasons. There's not much money in the area and work is difficult to find.
"We're not sure where he went and can't answer why he has not stayed in touch.
There may have been the occasional phone call to see how everything is and in the first two years he may have paid a visit."
But he said they would only ever discuss family matters and never talked politics or religion with Haroon.
He added: "From
what I can conclude, maybe he didn't want us to know what he was doing or where he was living.
"The only thing we can do is wait for him to call us and we hope he has our phone number"
The name Haroon Aswat has arisen in previous American news pieces dating as far back as August 2002.
An article in the Seattle Post from August 9, 2002, names Haroon Aswat as a bodyguard of controversial Muslim cleric Abu Hamza .
A senior intelligence official in the eastern city of Lahore confirmed that the man was in custody, but refused to disclose his name, or elaborate on his alleged links to the July 7 attacks. British authorities have asked their Pakistani counterparts to check about 100 Pakistani telephone numbers for possible links to the suicide bombers.
