Saudi Ambassador to Islamabad, Ali Bin-Awadh al-Asiri has strongly denied Arab media reports that claim that forty Saudis, arrested on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, are in the Pakistani jail of Kohat. The Ambassador stressed that there are no Saudis in Pakistani custody as of now, according to the Saudi daily Al Watan.
However, according to another Saudi daily Okaz, Islamabad will hand over the United States any of the detained Saudis that are found to be connected with Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda group. “If it is proven that any of them are members of Al Qaeda organization, then they will be handed over to the FBI,” Pakistan Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider told the Saudi newspaper. Currently, he added, information is still being gathered.
According to Okaz, Haider said that an estimated 240 Saudis were being questioned by United States and Pakistani investigators. They were captured in Pakistani territory, after fleeing from Afghanistan, including Tora Bora. According to Reuters, Pakistan is holding more than 200 Saudis in their jails, caught fleeing from Afghani land.
Nevertheless, the Saudi Ambassador told Al Watan, that the kingdom’s Embassy in Pakistan is following any report on the search for its citizens on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and mentioned that Islamabad is cooperating with them on this matter. He added that the embassy is in touch with the new Afghan interim government, receiving from them any new updates.
Ambassador Al –Asiri also claimed that Saudi Embassy officials in Islamabad are following the story closely and are constantly visiting Pakistani jails. As of the moment, the Embassy has not yet confirmed any of the reports.
He urged media reports to be “accurate” when reporting Saudi names, because this causes confusion amongst the families and, in addition, has legal consequences. Al-Asiri even mentioned some media reports included pictures of people claimed to be Saudi, but according to Saudi investigations, those people hold other Arab citizenship.
The Saudi Ambassador asserted that there is a chance to hold negotiations with the new Afghan government in the upcoming days, in order to receive information about any Saudis who went to Afghanistan for humane purposes, in light of the war-stricken country. He added that they went there not with the intent to “seek war”, but for “charitable purposes”, and remained in custody in Afghan jails.
Many Saudis are believed to be among the “Afghan Arabs” who serve as the base of Al Qaeda, together with others from non-Arab Muslim nations.
The denial of ambassador Al-Asiri came at a time when a wide-range of media sources, from the Arab and Western world, verified stories about Saudi detainees in Pakistani and Afghan jails. According to those reports, the detainees were Al-Qaeda members or supporters of the Afghan overthrown government, and participated in battles during the United State’s military campaign against the Taliban regime. (Albawaba.com)
