JEDDAH, 17 January — Deputy Minister of Interior Prince Ahmad has said that efforts of certain foreign agencies to create divisions within Saudi society are doomed to failure.
“It is a wicked, unjust and baseless campaign,” Prince Ahmad said in an interview with the Jazirah newspaper yesterday.
“Mostly, it comes from the enemies of not just the Saudi government but of Islam, the Ummah, and the Holy Qur’an, which is our constitution. The enemies aim at destabilizing our country and destroying the security of our people. The enemies will be disappointed, however, because their evil designs cannot fool our people, who are united as one,” the prince said.
He likewise denied that there were divisions in Saudi society along the lines of “supporters of and opposition to” the government.
Prince Ahmad said the Kingdom had not received any Saudi prisoners who had been fighting for Al-Qaeda or similar organizations in Afghanistan.
He said there were some Saudis caught up in the US-led campaign against the Taleban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. It is certain that “there are in Afghanistan some Saudis, some of whom were killed or taken prisoner or were wounded ... but so far none has been handed over to us,” Prince Ahmad said.
He said that so far he does not know whether there were any Saudis among the detainees transferred to the US base in Guantanamo, Cuba.
Those who surrender or are handed over to Saudi authorities will be interrogated and based on the information they provide “appropriate measures will be taken” to deal with them.
Prince Ahmad also said the government will seek to repatriate Saudi women and children who remain in Afghanistan. “Families and children have nothing to do with it ... we shall endeavor to bring them back home,” he added.
Replying to a question as to how the Saudi prisoners will be treated if delivered by the authorities in Pakistan, the prince said that whether they return voluntarily or are handed over to the authorities, inquiries will be made into their activities and appropriate action will be taken on the basis of the findings of such inquiries.
The prince reiterated that there is no discrimination against anyone in the Kingdom when it comes to legal matters.
All offenders, irrespective of their social status, are punished according to the law, the prince emphasized.
The prince denied the suggestion that the issue of separate ID cards for women should be seen as a prelude to issuing driving licenses.
“Everything presently unlawful will remain unlawful. We will not change things suddenly. And likewise, nothing lawful now will suddenly become prohibited,” the prince said.
