Britain is seeking the extradition of a British Al-Qaida suspect held in Pakistan, known as a "key man" in the thwarted plot to blow up airliners, The Times reported on Wednesday.

Officials at the British High Commission in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad had started the process of bringing Rashid Rauf, 25, back to Britain, the newspaper said.

Pakistan on Tuesday said it could extradite Rauf, who allegedly gave details of the conspiracy after his arrest in early August that helped to foil the plot. However, "The British government has asked for mutual legal assistance but not for his extradition," Pakistani spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told local media.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said although Britain does not have an extradition treaty with Pakistan, extradition is still possible through a number of international treaties to which both Britain and Pakistan are signatories, or through a one-off request.

But the spokeswoman did not confirm or deny any extradition requests, citing her department's policy.

Pakistan said last week that Rauf, one of the two British nationals of Pakistani origin arrested in the country along with their five local facilitators, was a "key man" in the conspiracy and had connections to the Al-Qaida network in Afghanistan.

Britain arrested 24 people in connection with the alleged plot to bomb U.S.-bound passenger jets. One of the 24 was released on Friday, and police arrested one more suspect on Tuesday.

Source: Xinhua