'Terrorists' are from SA

2004-07-29 16:41

Johannesburg - South Africa asked Pakistan on Thursday to allow consular officials to visit two of its nationals arrested in Pakistan during a weekend raid on an alleged al-Qaeda hideout, a spokesperson said.

Foreign ministry officials met with the Pakistani high commissioner in Pretoria to convey the request and to establish whether the two men are indeed South African nationals after concerns were raised about the use of fake passports.

"It is clear that the two are South African," said foreign ministry spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa. "We are at this stage seeking consular access to them."

The two were among 12 terror suspects arrested in a weekend raid on a house in the eastern city of Gujrat, 160km southeast of the capital Islamabad.

Pakistan officials claim the 12 men - including three foreigners - are operatives in Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

"They are among the most wanted terrorists and have links with dangerous terrorist groups," said Law Minister Raja Basharat from Punjab province.

Family

Deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad on Wednesday met with the family of one of the detainees, Feroze Ganchi, who are seeking assurances that the government was taking all the necessary steps to help the man.

The families of Ganchi, 30, and the other detainee, Zoubir Ismail, 20, have been quoted in South African newspaper reports as denying that the young men were involved in terrorism.

Ismail's father, Mohammed, was quoted by The Star as saying that his son had travelled to Pakistan two weeks ago on a tourist visa to do religious studies.

"There is no way that my son is some sort of killer or suicide bomber. I have never heard of such nonsense before and challenge anyone to prove this," he was quoted as saying.

Ganchi's uncle, Ebrahim Mohamed, said his nephew was travelling in Pakistan "to take a break" before he takes up a new post as surgeon at a Johannesburg hospital.

- AFP