Pakistan arrests four more JI suspects<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Pakistan has arrested four more Indonesian students suspected of
\nhaving links to Southeast Asian terror group Jamaah Islamiyah
\n(JI), a senior security official said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"We have arrested four more Indonesian students from Karachi
\nin the last 24 hours,\" the official told AFP, on condition of
\nanonymity.<\/p>\n
\"All of them have links with JI.\"<\/p>\n
Pakistan is also holding the brother of alleged JI operations
\nchief Hambali, plus another Indonesian named Mohammad Saifuddin
\nand 13 Malaysian students. All were arrested in raids on Islamic
\nboarding schools in the crowded port city this month.<\/p>\n
They had been under surveillance for several weeks and were
\narrested on suspicion of terrorist activities, officials have
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has pledged to give
\nIndonesia wide access to closely monitor the ongoing
\ninvestigation into the Indonesian students, according to a
\ngovernment official.<\/p>\n
Foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said here on
\nTuesday that Pakistani Ambassador to Indonesia Syed Mustafa Anwer
\nHusein made promised access would be given after the ministry
\nsummoned the ambassador to explain the Indonesian students'
\narrests.<\/p>\n
Indonesia summoned the ambassador amid increasing calls for
\nthe government to protect the two Indonesian students.<\/p>\n
Hambali's brother Rusman \"Gun Gun\" Gunawan was arrested in the
\nfirst week of September, while the 13 Malaysians and Saifuddin
\nwere arrested on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the
\narrests were based on information extracted from Hambali after
\nhis arrest in Thailand on Aug. 11. He is in U.S. custody at an
\nundisclosed location.<\/p>\n
Hambali is considered Asia's point man for Osama bin Laden's
\nal-Qaeda network as well as JI operations chief.<\/p>\n
Pakistan has primarily charged Gun Gun and Saifuddin with
\nimmigration offenses, according to Marty. However, he added that
\nPakistan had extended the investigation to the students'
\nactivities, which were found to be contrary to Pakistan's
\nnational interests.<\/p>\n
\"But beyond concerns of immigration violations or activities
\nconsidered contrary to Pakistan's interests, we demanded access
\nto the students to monitor their condition and their cases. And
\nPakistan agreed to it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Differing from the Malaysian deputy prime minister's
\nstatement, Marty said the arrests were based on the Pakistani
\ngovernment's decision and were not made at the request of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
On the day of the first two arrests, Pakistan foreign ministry
\nspokesman said the arrests were made in pursuance of Pakistan's
\naim to investigate terrorists and terrorist suspects.<\/p>\n
Both students, according to a Pakistani intelligence source,
\nsaid they were guilty of failing to renew their visas and
\ninsisted they had entered Pakistan on scholarships from the
\nPakistani government.<\/p>\n
Indonesian authorities in Pakistan learned about Gun Gun's
\narrest on Sept. 4 from an assistant registrar of Jamia Abi Bakar
\nIslamia University in Karachi, where he was reportedly studying.
\nThey were also informed of Saifuddin's arrest from a friend of
\nhis at the university.<\/p>\n
Vice President Hamzah Haz said that the government would send
\na team of lawyers to defend the students' rights.<\/p>\n
\"I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to use its
\ndiplomatic channels to monitor the problem ...,\" the Vice
\nPresident said after opening a workshop of a Muslim group at his
\noffice.<\/p>\n
\"Most important is that the arrests are not linked to
\nreligious issues and do not raise new problems in our own
\ncountry,\" he added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pakistan-arrests-four-more-ji-suspects-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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