Investigations into top terror suspect Hambali provided information which led to the arrest of 13 Malaysians in Pakistan, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday.

"The Pakistani authorities identified the students from investigations carried out on Hambali. They found Hambali had contacts in the country and it was through his contacts that the authorities identified the students," Abdullah told reporters.

Hambali, an Indonesian who has been in United States custody since his arrest in Thailand on Aug 11, is considered Asia's pointman for Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network as well as operations chief for the Southeast Asian Jemaah Islamiah (JI) group.

The US authorities have reportedly provided information obtained through Hambali 's ( photo )interrogation to some security services in the region, but it was unclear from Abdullah's remarks whether this had been the source that led to the students' arrests.

Two Indonesians were detained along with the 13 Malaysians. One of the Indonesians is said to be Hambali's brother .

Bringing them home

Abdullah said Malaysia had appealed to the Pakistani government to send the Malaysian students home.

"We want to meet them and decide on the appropriate actions later," he said.

The students were arrested Saturday in Karachi, a magnet for al-Qaeda fugitives in Pakistan, where they were studying at the Abu Bakar madrassa (religious school).

"These are suspected terrorists or people who have links with terrorists," said Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan.

Pakistan has been cracking down on foreign students in its 10,000 madrassas, throwing out those overstaying their visas and banning foreign funding.

It has been trying to regulate the madrassas since last year, requiring them to register and urging them to expand their curricula beyond rote Koranic learning.

The JI terror network is blamed for a string of attacks in Indonesia, including last October's Bali bombings which killed 202 people and a hotel blast last month in Jakarta which killed 12 people. - AFP