June 27, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 15, 1423

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PESHAWAR, June 26: Parents of the Pakistani students have expressed concern over the arrest of their sons in Afghanistan, asking President Musharraf to contact Karzai-led administration in Kabul to release them.

Five Pakistani students who after having completed their graduation from Kandahar Medical University, had gone to Afghanistan to secure their degrees, were arrested by security personnel on March 18, 2002 at the campus of the Kabul university.

The five students, namely, Mohammad Iqbal, son of Gul Mohammad of Kabal village, Swat; Naviduddin, son of Misbahuddin, Prang village, Charsadda; Bakht Zaman, son of Wahid Zaman of Kabal village, Swat; Ghulam Yahya, son of Mohammad Raheem of Bisham district; and Rasheed Ahmad, son of Muhammad Hussain of Kabal village Swat, have been languishing in Riasat Jail No 3 in Kabul.

Misbahuddin, father of Naveeduddin, told Dawn that his son had gone to Kabul along with the other four students but was arrested by the authorities. According to him, they had come to Kabul from Kandahar in connection with attestation of their academic documents.

He said, he came to know about the arrest of his son when one of his nephews visited Kabul and found that all the five students had landed in jail. These students didn’t possess valid travelling documents due to the nonexistence of visa and consular facilities at the Afghan embassy at Islamabad, he said, adding that the security personnel at Kabul also snatched Rs1,85,000 from them.

These students, he said had been arrested on the suspicion of being associated with Jihadi organization because they belonged to Swat where the Jihadi organization has it roots. But, he said they were innocent and had nothing to do with Jihad.

Meanwhile, the Afghan embassy at Islamabad faxed a letter to the officials concerned at Kabul to arrange for the early release of these students, said father of another detainee, who also appreciated the embassy officials for their sympathy with the bereaved parents.

The Pakistan embassy in Kabul is also in touch with the officials to get the innocent students released, he said. He appealed to President Musharraf and international aid organizations to help the release of the students and save their parents from the agony.