7/11: Pakistani suspects held in Nepal

Kathmandu (Nepal): Nepal's police have arrested two Pakistanis and are investigating them in connection with this week's train bombings in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The two men were arrested at a hotel in Kathmandu on Tuesday and appeared on Friday before the Kathmandu District Court judge Mohan Bhattarai.

Bhattarai ordered them to be held in custody for five days pending further investigation.

Police official Dhak Bahadur Karki told The Associated Press that Gulam Hussein Chimma, 53, of Lahore, and Aftab Muhaddin Siddhiqui, 56, of Karachi, were held in connection with the seizure of RDX explosives in 2001 in Kathmandu.

Other police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were also investigating whether the suspects had links to Tuesday's bombings in Bombay that killed 200 people.

The two suspects told the judge they had no links to the RDX seizure.

"We are totally innocent of these allegations. We were involved in a road construction project and we flew to Kathmandu on July 8 to settle our past accounts," Siddhiqui said.

Police did not allow reporters to talk to the suspects, who were whisked away from the court after the brief appearance.

Police said the alleged handlers of the RDX had left the country just before or after the seizure, resulting in the five-year delay in making the arrests.

The Nepal police were tipped off about the two Pakistanis by the Indian Embassy.

The Government keeps a close watch on the movements of Pakistanis and Kashmiris in Nepal.

India has often expressed concern that terrorists from Pakistan and Kashmir use Nepal as a transit point to enter India.

The theory gained credence after terrorists hijacked an Indian Airlines flight from Nepal to New Delhi in December 1999.

It flew to Kandahar, Afghanistan via the Pakistani city of Lahore and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The hijacking ended after an eight-day standoff.

India released three prisoners in exchange for the 155 surviving hostages. One hostage was killed.

The five hijackers, who demanded the release of Kashmiri terrorists in India, were armed with pistols, grenades and knives. They escaped and are still at large.