ISLAMABAD, 7 May 2008 — Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mehmood Qureshi said yesterday that the government was in contact with Pakistanis detained by Spanish security agencies on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities.
Replying to a call-attention notice in the Senate, the minister said Spanish security agencies had arrested 12 Pakistanis. Nine of them were found guilty of having some time devices and explosives-related material in their possession. Three of the detained were found innocent and released.
He said the detained Pakistanis were already wanted by the law enforcement agencies on the suspicion of their involvement in terrorist activities.
The minister said both the ministry and the embassy were well aware of the incident and were in constant touch with the Spanish government and the families of the arrested Pakistanis.
“We have arranged counsels for them. They were produced before court and their trial would commence shortly,” the minister said. He informed the house that the ministry had arranged detailed interaction with the detainees and were also given a chance to contact their families.
He assured the house that the government would make all its efforts to provide legal aid to the Pakistanis under detention and hoped that they would be cleared of charges of terrorism.
Qureshi said he had no knowledge about the date of their next hearing. However, he had been informed that their trial would commence within a few months.
The foreign minister told the Senate that after the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy, countries have intensified their rules and regulations and may detain anyone on suspicion of terrorism. However, he admitted that sometimes the innocent became prey to such rules.
The wife of one of the detainees, Shahid Iqbal, told the Dawn newspaper recently that her husband had called her a number of times and told her that the authorities had no evidence about their involvement in any wrongdoing.
