The South African government vowed on Thursday to continue exerting diplomatic pressure to gain access to two of its citizens being held in Pakistan since July 25 on terrorism accusations.
”We are leaving no stone unturned to get access to those people,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad told reporters in Pretoria.
”We are asking our services, including some major countries, to try and get behind what is going on.”
Asked what the obstacle is, he said: ”In the fight against terrorism a lot of the rules of law go out the window.”
Pahad said much of the diplomatic pressure from South Africa’s side is being ”blocked” by Pakistani authorities describing the matter as an operational issue to be handled by intelligence and security services.
Pahad said it is imperative for South African diplomats to gain access to the men to determine the truth. The government finds it difficult to understand the basis of reports of a terrorist threat against South Africa.
Pahad said ”anybody who has any sense” would know that South Africa has taken ”consistently correct” positions on issues such as the Middle East and the war on Iraq, and there is no reason why anyone would want to attack it.
He stressed that no country can be complacent about the possibility of terrorist activities, but reiterated that South African authorities have no indication of any such threat against the country.
Government departments making up a safety and security cluster meet monthly to analyse the country’s security situation, Pahad added.
”Our analysis has not indicated that there is any real threat.”
Regarding reports of two other people, apparently travelling with South African passports, being held in the United States and Mexico on similar charges, the deputy minister said South Africa has ”no real information”. The information is being verified.
The two being held in Pakistan are Feroze Ganchi, a doctor from Fordsburg, Johannesburg; and 20-year-old student Zubair Ismail from Laudium in Pretoria.
They were among about a dozen people detained after a 12-hour shootout with security forces at a house in Gujrat, south-east of Islamabad, on July 25.
Tanzanian al-Qaeda suspect Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was reportedly among those arrested. He is wanted by the US for the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Media reports quoted Pakistani officials as saying Ganchi and Ismail had told interrogators of plans to attack targets in their home country. Maps were reportedly found that point to a plan to attack tourist and business sites in South Africa.
On Wednesday, the South African government dismissed reports to this effect as untrue. — Sapa