December 22, 2003	Monday	Shawwal 27, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 21: Pakistan has repatriated six Indonesian terror suspects to their country, including a younger brother of Hambali who is believed to be the mastermind of Bali bombing in Indonesia, a source in the interior ministry told Dawn on Sunday.

The extradition of the suspects, who were netted for their links with Al Qaeda, took place on Dec 17 when the Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri was in Pakistan.

When approached, the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) Chairman, Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema, confirmed that the suspects had been repatriated.

However, he denied the involvement of the suspects in Bali bombing in which 220 tourists were killed early this year.

He refused to comment on a news report that a similar explosive device was used in Bali bombing, which went off under a bridge soon after President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s convoy had crossed it on Dec 14. “The ISPR is the better forum to comment on it,” he added.

Talking to Dawn, Interior Ministry Secretary Tasneem Noorani categorically denied the possibility of any link between Rawalpindi blast and Bali bombing.

Terming it a coincident, Mr Noorani agreed that plastic bombs were used both in Rawalpindi bridge blast and Bali bombing. He, however, said: “Plastic bombs are available all over the world, therefore, the use of same sort of explosive device is not enough evidence to link the two incidents.”

In response to a question, the secretary expressed his ignorance about the repatriation of Indonesian suspects to their country.

Brigadier Cheema said the Indonesian terror suspects were arrested some two months ago from a Madressah in Karachi.