Police await nod from Pakistan<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Police are waiting for the green light from Pakistan to send a
\nteam to question five Indonesian students detained there on
\nsuspicion of terrorist links, Police chief Gen. Da'i Bahctiar
\nsays.<\/p>\n
Da'i said, police could not yet send the team, as there was no
\nguarantee that it would have access to the five students.<\/p>\n
\"We have set up a team, but we are still waiting. Indeed, we
\nplan to include intelligence officers in the team but we still
\ndon't know when...\" Da'i said after welcoming President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri and her entourage at the Halim Perdanakusumah
\nairport in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Megawati arrived home Sunday from a week-long visit to the
\nUnited States, Tunisia, and Libya.<\/p>\n
According to Da'i, the team would ensure that Indonesian
\nstudents were treated well while in custody. The team would also
\ninvestigate the activities of the students up until their
\narrests.<\/p>\n
Six Indonesian students -- Rusman Gunawan alias Gun Gun, Ilham
\nSopandi, Furqon Abdullah, Muhammad Anwar Asshidiqie, David
\nPintarto, and Muhammad Saifuddin were rounded up by Pakistani
\nauthorities for their alleged links with regional terrorist
\nnetwork Jamaah Islamiyah (JI). One of the students, Saifuddin,
\nwas released last Thursday.<\/p>\n
They were all students of the Abubakar Islamic University.<\/p>\n
Gun Gun had admitted that he had aided his elder brother, top
\nterrorist suspect Riduan Isamuddin alias Hambali by sending him
\nUS$50,000 in cash and compact discs a few months ago.<\/p>\n
He, however, also denied links to any terrorist group.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian police have questioned several people who were
\nacquainted with Gun Gun and his friends.<\/p>\n
\"We have information, but not from Gun Gun himself,\" Da'i was
\nquoted by Antara as saying Sunday.<\/p>\n
Vice President Hamzah Haz said on Saturday that the release of
\nIndonesian students from custody would take time.<\/p>\n
\"It is likely to take time. We, like any other country, must
\nrespect the law there. It could take two, three, five or more
\ndays ,\" he said in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Earlier, on Wednesday, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
\nsaid his government could hand over the students to Indonesia if
\nthe latter so wished, but so far the Pakistani military had yet
\nto give the go ahead.<\/p>\n
Musharraf also discussed the issue with President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri at a luncheon for leaders of member countries of
\nthe Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in New York last
\nweek.<\/p>\n
Haz said that the Foreign Affairs Ministry should use
\ndiplomatic channels to seek the release of the Indonesians.<\/p>\n
\"We should give them (Pakistani authorities) time to
\ninterrogate the students. If there is no evidence (on their
\nalleged link with a terrorist group), they should be released to
\navoid tensions between us (Indonesia and Pakistan),\" Haz said.<\/p>\n
The Vice President reaffirmed that the Indonesian students had
\nnot been arrested at the request of the Indonesian police, but
\npurely on the Pakistani authorities' initiative.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-await-nod-from-pakistan-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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