Pakistan denies arrest of Afghan nationals
BBC
The Pakistan Government has strongly denied reports of a mass arrest of Afghan nationals.

Up to 200 Afghan citizens allegedly linked to the Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden are reported to have been rounded because of fears they may attack US nationals in the country.

The US has warned of possible terrorist attacks against US interests around the world during the holiday season.

The arrests are said to have been made in a series of overnight raids in northwestern Peshawar, which borders Afghanistan, and in the federal capital of Islamabad.

But a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior in Islamabad said the reports were entirely baseless.

Earlier on Thursday, the Pakistani authorities handed over a Jordanian national to Amman who was believed to be working for bin Laden.

Officials in Peshawar said they were on the look out for another Arab associate of bin Laden.

Rocket attack

But they said they had no plans to round up any Afghan refugees or Arab nationals living in the country.

Six rockets were fired last month at US and United Nations buildings in Islamabad, two days before UN sanctions were imposed on the Afghanistan's Taleban rulers.

The measues were a response to the Taleban's refusal to extradite bin Laden for trial either in the United States or a third country on terrorism charges.

The Taleban say there is no evidence of his involvement in terrorism and add that Afghan tradition bars handing over a guest to his enemies.

The US accuses bin Laden of masterminding two attacks on its embassies in East Africa last year that resulted in the deaths of 224 people, including 12 Americans.