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LONDON: A British politician on Tuesday denied offering a 10 million pound reward for the capture of US President Barack Obama, an allegation reported then later retracted by Pakistan’s Express Tribune newspaper.
Nazir Ahmed, a member of parliament’s upper chamber and a long-time member of Britain’s opposition Labour party, said he was deliberately misquoted during a recent speech in an effort by political enemies in Pakistan to discredit him.
“I never mentioned Obama and I never mentioned a bounty. I do not support terrorism and would never urge anybody to attack someone or capture someone,” Ahmed, who was suspended by the Labour party pending an investigation, told Reuters.
The newspaper on Tuesday said Ahmed did not say the word “bounty” or Obama’s name and that its earlier story was incorrect.
Ahmed told Reuters last week that he would be ready to help raise money for the prosecution of former US President George Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for what he considered war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His comments were in response to a US $10 million reward announced earlier this month for help in the arrest of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who is suspected of masterminding attacks in India.
