February 4, 2003	Tuesday	Zul Hijjah 2,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: The foreign ministry on Monday summoned the Italian ambassador to protest the Italian media’s treatment of 28 Pakistanis detained last week in Naples on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack.

The ministry said it had “made a strong demarche (complaint)” to ambassador Angelo Gabriele de Ceglie.

“Disappointment was conveyed at the manner in which the incident had been played up in the Italian media, prematurely and without proper investigation,” it said in a statement.

Italian police arrested the Pakistanis during an anti- narcotics sweep on Thursday and accused them of “criminal conspiracy for terrorist ends.”

The ministry officials told the ambassador that the detained Pakistanis “did not have any terrorist links.”

“Their only motivation was to earn a livelihood in Italy. Four of them had valid stay permits issued in 1998 and the rest had the required permission to stay in Italy while their applications for work permits were being processed.”

The officials urged the Italian authorities to speed up consular access to the detainees.

“The situation is being tackled with the utmost urgency,” senior foreign ministry official Anisuddin Ahmed told AFP.

“All steps are being taken to make sure that things are settled at the earliest.”

Mr De Ceglie assured the officials that it was not the Italian government’s policy to target Pakistanis.

He promised to convey Islamabad’s concerns and to press for “an early resolution of the case of 28 arrested Pakistanis.”—AFP