Pakistan arrests 18 for al-Qaeda 'links'

Three of those arrested are believed to be relatives of Osama bin Laden

		By Zaffar Abbas BBC South Asia reporter

Pakistan's security agencies have arrested 18 foreign nationals, including three women, suspected of having links with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda movement.

A report in a leading Sindhi language daily Kawish, on the basis of an official document, says all of them were arrested last week while crossing into Pakistan from the long and porous border with Afghanistan.

The newspaper report says a document prepared by the country's leading intelligence agency and presented to the President, Pervez Musharraf, two days ago details the profiles of those arrested.

The document itself does not link these people with al-Qaeda, but the newspaper report says intelligence officials are presently investigating their links with Bin Laden.

According to the report those arrested include at least three women, who are believed to be relatives of the terror suspect, Bin Laden, and their husbands are presently being interrogated by Pakistan's Military Intelligence.

Foreign origins

Of the 18 arrested people, four are of Macedonians or Albanian origin, two are Turkish, three are of Saudi origin and nine having Yemeni background.

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Six of them were arrested from Mohmand Agency in the Northwest Frontier Province while others were taken into custody from different entry points in Balochistan.

Four main suspects are still in the custody of Military Intelligence, three in the custody of civil administration of Quetta, three women are in Quetta Jail and the remaining men in the Northwest Frontier province are being interrogated by a joint team of intelligence agencies.

Official sources say the government has still not decided how to deal with the arrested foreigners.

But the President is believed to have instructed the intelligence agencies to furnish complete details about their exact role in al-Qaeda, after which the concerned countries could be contacted for their possible extradition.