Pay us or get bombed, Pak jihadis tell McDonald's
Amir Mir
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 2:18 IST Email

Islamabad: Several jihadi groups in Pakistan are trying to extort multi-national food chains in Karachi to buy arms and explosives.

Intelligence sources in Islamabad said jehadi groups like the Tekrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, led by Baitullah Mehsud, and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, led by Qari Hussain Mehsud, are terrorising food chains like McDonald's, KFC, Subway and Pizza Hut. McDonald's head office in Karachi recently received a threatening letter asking it to cough up Rs50 million or face attacks on its Lahore and Karachi branches.

The company was asked not to use bugs or trackers or involve enforcement agencies. If the person coming to collect the money was harmed the deal would be called off, the letter warned. "Pack the money in a bag and reach the location mentioned below. If you have a message, write it on a piece of paper and put it in the bag," the letter directed.

The car used to make the payment was to be white in colour and parked at the address given in the letter."The name and cellphone number of the person sitting in the car must be written on the rear windscreen so that it can be easily read from 25m. After January 15, don't blame us for anything," it said.

The jihadi groups threatened suicide attacks, kidnapping of foreigners and major bank robberies. But the truth is there has been a decline in bomb attacks by these outfits as they face a funds crunch after battling the Pakistan Army in the troubled tribal areas.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1223432