ISLAMABAD, 23 September 2003 — The younger brother of Hambali, Al-Qaeda’s suspected point man for Southeast Asia, has been arrested along with 14 other people suspected of terrorist activities, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry said yesterday. The man, Rusman Gunawan, was among the group of people from Malaysia and Indonesia arrested Saturday in raids on three Islamic schools in the southern port city of Karachi, ministry spokesman Iftikhar Ahmad told The Associated Press. “Yes, the brother of Hambali is among the 13 Malaysian and two Indonesian students who were detained in Karachi,” he said. An official with the Indonesian consulate in Karachi was quoted by the Indonesian news agency Antara as saying the consulate had requested access to the prisoner. “We want access to (Gunawan and another student) so we can prepare consular and legal advice if they need it,” the official, Temu Alam, was quoted as saying.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Massood Khan said the suspects were arrested on terrorism charges.
“These are suspected terrorists or have links with terrorists,” he said.
Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, was Southeast Asia’s most wanted man until he was arrested Aug. 11 in Thailand by Thai police and the CIA. US authorities then flew him to an undisclosed location.
Police in Jakarta have no evidence against Gunawan and would not seek his extradition, said an Indonesian police spokesman, Zainuri Lubis. It was not yet clear whether Gunawan has committed any crimes in Pakistan. Indonesia’s SCTV reported Gunawan came to Pakistan in 1999 to study at Karachi’s Abu Bakar seminary on a scholarship given by the Pakistani government. Before that, he sold vegetables at a village market. An Indonesia-based terrorism expert who spoke to the AP said Gunawan was believed to be in charge of Jemaah Islamiah’s Pakistan branch, and is believed to have arranged trips for Hambali to Pakistan and Afghanistan. The people picked up in Karachi were Islamic students wanted on suspicion of terrorism, said Khan, the Foreign Ministry spokesman. Officials say they had also overstayed their visas.
It was not clear what authorities planned to do with Gunawan, or whether he is wanted by the United States. The US Embassy in Islamabad said it had no immediate comment.
