The police have allegedly arrested a 16-year-old student who returned from Karachi, Pakistan several weeks ago, according to human rights group Abolish the Internal Security Act Movement (AIM) today.

Its deputy president Zaid Kamaruddin claimed that Mohd Khider Mohd Safar was detained last Sunday at his home in Salak Tinggi, Kuala Lumpur.

His brother Nurul Mohd Fikri,18, was among the 13 Malaysian students arrested in Pakistan recently for allegedly being involved in militant activities. Both siblings were students at Karachi's University of Islamic Studies.

"He has only been back here for a several weeks. At the moment, the family has no idea where he is or under what law he is being held," said Zaid during a press conference at the Parliament lobby.

He claimed the teenager was most probably detained under the ISA since the police have yet to produce him in court to obtain a remand order.

When contacted, officials from the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters could not confirm the arrest.

'Future JI leaders'

The alleged arrest comes less than a week after Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung said police were investigating the family members of the 13 Malaysian students, touted as ' future leaders ' of regional terror network Jemaah Islamiah (JI).

The students - from Karachi's University of Islamic Studies and Abu Bakar Islamic University - were arrested by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sept 27 on suspicion of being involved in activities against the country's national interest.

Of those detained, four have been confirmed to be the sons of ISA detainees presently serving a two-year detention for suspected involvement in militant activities at the Kamunting detention camp.

Meanwhile, Zaid said a fifth student detained in Karachi may also be related to another ISA detainee but this was yet to be verified.

AIM also presented a memorandum on the students to parliamentary opposition leader and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

In the memorandum, Zaid said the 13 were believed to have gone abroad to pursue their studies through valid channels.

"We understand that they all went to study in Pakistan with a visa from the Pakistani government. We have also been told that the attempts by family members to obtain confirmation of the students' identities have not been entertained," he added.

Third hand info

After receiving the memorandum on behalf of Abdul Hadi, PAS MP Mohamad Sabu said the government should take responsibility for all Malaysians abroad, especially when they run into difficulties.

"The government must find out through the embassies and inform parents of the fate of their children. They should ask for the students' release or at least let the parents know why the students were arrested in the first place," he added.

Another PAS parliamentarian Mahfuz Omar said the government should not label the students as future JI leaders based on third hand information received from foreign authorities.

"The government confirmed that the students were JI members based on investigations by the FIA and alleged testimony from (detained JI leader) Hambali.

"But at this moment, we don't even know if this is accurate because no one knows even the location of Hambali," he added.

In addition, Mahfuz said it was also inaccurate for the government to portray the students as relatives of JI members since the allegations against the ISA detainees have not been proven in court.

"It is not rational for the students to be linked to the group because of allegations against their parents. This is an unacceptable argument," he told reporters.

Register with embassies

When met later, Deputy Education Minister Aziz Shamsuddin said the government might consider making it compulsory for students studying abroad for more than three months at a stretch to register with the respective Malaysian embassies.

"At the moment, some register and some don't. If all goes well, it goes unnoticed but when problems arise, it causes complications to us.

"I will make a suggestion to the government for registration to be made compulsory," he added.

The deputy minister said he was "certain" that none of the 13 arrested students had registered with the Malaysian High Commission in Pakistan.

"Now that they are in trouble, they want us to take action. By right, the parents should have approached the ministry first to check whether the schools where they are sending their children are recognised institutions," he added.

However, he said it was uncertain if there were other Malaysian students registered with the two Karachi universities.

Ambassador's visit

When contacted later, Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung declined to confirm the arrest of Mohd Khider, saying that the police is only required to inform the ministry after they carry out their investigations into the matter.

Chor also said the government has yet to receive a report on the investigations of the Pakistani authorities into the activities of the 13 students.

"They will let us know after they finish investigating. We do not want to disturb them. They will let us know when they are done," he said.

The deputy minister also denied that the 13 are being held incommunicado, saying that the Malaysian ambassador is believed to have met with them in Karachi.