April 27, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 20, 1429

ISLAMABAD, April 26: The families of nine Pakistanis, who are under detention in Spain on the suspicion of planning a terrorist attack, have appealed to the government to pursue the matter diplomatically with the Spanish government to ensure that their relatives are produced before a court of law.

The Spanish police had arrested 14 people from a Barcelona mosque on January 12. They included 12 Pakistanis and two Indians. However, one of the Pakistanis and an Indian were released the same day. Two more Pakistanis were later released by a local court.

However, the remaining people are still in the jails of various cities of Spain and have not been produced in any court yet.

The wife of one of the detainees, Shahid Iqbal, told Dawn her husband had called her a number of times and told her that the authorities had no evidence about their involvement in any wrongdoing.

But, still they were reluctant to give them access to the court, she said.

Mrs Shahid said her husband supported his parents and sisters living in Kohat. With his detention, the whole family had been suffering and marriage of his two sisters had been put off.

The mother of another detainee, Hafeez Ahmed, hailing from Tench Bhata, has been on bed ever since she came to know about the arrest.