Government of Maldives has denied that Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud’s planned trip to the Maldives was canceled due to a terror attack as claimed by some foreign media sources.

The King was scheduled to visit the country on Saturday, but the planned visit was cancelled last minute on Friday. Foreign Minister Dr. Mohamed Asim said that this was due to the rapidly spreading H1N1 virus, adding that the trip was postponed.

Quoting highly reliable sources, Siasath news, an India based publication, claimed that the terrorism was the real reason the trip was cancelled. The paper said that Saudi intelligence had received information of a terror threat, noting that a Yemeni national residing in the country was arrested.

The Yemeni, Yasir Yahya’s arrest was first reported by Raajje.mv. Prior to his arrest he was teaching in Arabiyya School and Ahmadiyya School as an Arab language teacher. He was placed in care of Immigration Services following his arrest.

The court order authorizing his arrest stated the school teacher to be suspected of recruiting locals to an international terrorist militia. The warrant, signed by Judge Abdul Baaree Yusuf of the Criminal Court, was based entirely on an intelligence report compiled by the police.

Siasat reported that Yasir had been deported to Saudi Arabia. He was suspected of having planned to attack Saudi King and his entourage. The paper also reported that Saudi officials had expressed concern over the security arrangements ahead of the visit.

Speaking to Raajje.mv, Home Minister Azleen Ahmed had denied the claims, adding that this was an effort by foreign media to discredit and defame the nation. He asserted that the trip was postponed due to the H1N1 outbreak in the country and no other reason.

MNDF Captain Ibrahim Azim said that there were no reports of a terror attack aimed for the King’s visit. Police Spokesperson Ahmed Shifan had also corroborated this, stating that Police had not received any such reports.