ISLAMABAD, April 1: Pakistan on Monday confirmed the arrest of five Sudanese trainee pilots suspected of links with Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network.

“Five Sudanese who are nationals and were attending a training course at a private flying club have been detained for investigations,” foreign office spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said.

The five arrested on Saturday were among nine foreigners, mostly Arabs, who had been admitted for pilot training at the flying club in Peshawar, according to club officials.

The nationalities of the other four, who were not arrested, were not disclosed.

According to the flying club, all nine had entered the country legally on valid visas. —AFP