ISLAMABAD, July 16: The US authorities have confirmed that there are 16 Pakistanis being held in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, including Karachi-based businessman Saifullah Paracha who allegedly provided financial support to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to a source in the interior ministry.

The source said on Sunday that Paracha was picked up from an area bordering Afghanistan.

According to an official, a delegation to be headed by National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) director Colonel Imran will visit the Cuba-based Guantanamo Bay prison on July 20 to ascertain the exact number of Pakistani inmates and initiate the process for their repatriation.

He said Islamabad had not been provided an exact number of Pakistanis detained in Guantanamo but it was expected that the figure must be over 50. Most of them were arrested in Afghanistan, he said.

There are about 490 detainees in the Guantanamo Bay centre.

The official said 67 Pakistanis had already returned from the detention centre and said the US authorities had reportedly asked Islamabad to keep vigilant eye on those people. Some of them are said to have been put in jails to keep them from re-indulging in terrorist activities.

DELEGATION TO KABUL: Another delegation will leave for Kabul on Monday to seek release of Pakistani prisoners from Afghan jails, said Interior Ministry Additional Secretary Qamar Zaman, who will be heading the delegation.