RI students deny terror links<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Two Indonesian students arrested in Pakistan denied links to any
\nterrorist group on Monday and insisted that they entered the
\ncountry on scholarships from the Pakistani government.<\/p>\n
Rusman Gunawan, the younger brother of alleged terrorist
\nRiduan Isamuddin, alias Hambali, and Muhammad Saifuddin said all
\nthey were guilty of was failing to renew their student visas.<\/p>\n
A Pakistani intelligence source said the two students had
\ndenied during questioning any connection to terrorist groups.<\/p>\n
They said their only mistake was allowing their visas to
\nexpire and failing to extend them, the intelligence officer said.<\/p>\n
Rusman Gunawan, known as Gun Gun, was arrested on Sept. 1, and
\nMuhammad Saifuddin was arrested on Sept. 20.<\/p>\n
Gun Gun is the younger brother of Hambali, who is believed to
\nbe the Southeast Asia coordinator of al-Qaeda. Hambali was
\narrested in Thailand last month and is being held by the United
\nStates at an undisclosed location.<\/p>\n
Indonesian diplomats in Karachi learned about Gun Gun's arrest
\non Sept. 4 from an assistant registrar of Abubakar Islamic
\nUniversity, where he was reportedly studying.<\/p>\n
Indonesian diplomats were informed of Saifuddin's arrest by
\nfriends of his at the university.<\/p>\n
\"We are still trying to determine the whereabouts of the two
\nstudents,\" Temu Alam, the acting Indonesian consul general in
\nKarachi, was quoted by Antara as saying on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Col. Ghullam Baz, a member of the crisis management division
\nat Pakistan's interior ministry, said Pakistan would grant access
\nto Indonesian representatives to meet with the two detainees.<\/p>\n
However, Dindin Wahidin, an employee at the Indonesian
\nConsulate General in Karachi, said Ghullam wanted the Indonesian
\ngovernment to file an official request before any access was
\ngranted.<\/p>\n
Gun Gun was born in Cianjur, West Java, in 1977, and went to
\nPakistan in 1999, where he enrolled at the Abubakar Islamic
\nUniversity. His Indonesian identity card lists his residence as
\nJl. Saleh in Karang Tengah, Cianjur regency, West Java.<\/p>\n
Saifuddin is from the village of Sumber Agung in Moyudan,
\nYogyakarta. He went to Karachi in 2001.<\/p>\n
Both Gun Gun and Saifuddin reportedly study at the School of
\nTauhid (the unity of God) and Hadist (collection of stories
\nrelating the words or deeds of Prophet Muhammad) at Abubakar
\nIslamic University. They received scholarships from the Pakistani
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
According to Indonesian officials in Karachi, the two legally
\nentered Karachi and had all of their immigration documents.<\/p>\n
Two Indonesian and 13 Malaysian students were among those
\narrested on Saturday in Karachi, a magnet for al-Qaeda fugitives
\nin Pakistan.<\/p>\n
\"The arrests were made in pursuance of our aim to interdict,
\nto investigate terrorists, and suspected terrorists in this
\ncase,\" Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan was quoted
\nby Agence France-Presse as saying on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"These are suspected terrorists or people who have links with
\nterrorists,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The students had been under surveillance for several weeks on
\nsuspicion of activities \"not in Pakistan's national interests\"
\nand for links to terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, an
\nintelligence official said.<\/p>\n
\"There is the possibility that some of them have links with
\nJemaah Islamiyah,\" the official told AFP on condition of
\nanonymity on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Pakistan has been cracking down on foreign students at its
\n10,000 madrassas, or Islamic schools, throwing out those who have
\noverstayed their visas.<\/p>\n
The country has been attempting to regulate the madrassas
\nsince last year, requiring them to register and urging them to
\nexpand their curriculums beyond rote memorization of the Koran.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-students-deny-terror-links-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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