THE TIMES OF INDIA

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2003
 
Pak arrests 15 foreign students 

REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security officials arrested 15 Southeast Asian students in the port city of Karachi on Saturday for involvement in activities seen as prejudicial to the interests of Pakistan, state-run television said.

Two of the suspects were Indonesian and 13 Malaysian, it said.

"They were arrested for involvement in activities which are against the interests of Pakistan," the report said. 

It did not elaborate but the term is usually used for terrorism-related activities. "The relevant governments have been informed," the television report said.

Pakistan Television said the Malaysian and the Indonesian governments had withdrawn permission for the students to stay on in Pakistan.

"After completing necessary investigations and legal formalities, they will be handed over to the concerned countries," it said.

Karachi, a sprawling city of 14 million people, has been the scene of several bloody attacks on Western and Christian targets in recent years.

Islamic militants angered by Pakistan's support for the US-led war on terror have been blamed for the attacks.

Pakistan has arrested several senior members of the Al Qaida group, blamed for the 9/11 attacks on the US, as well as several hundred more junior members and supporters. 

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