69 Pakistanis under detention in Saudi Arabia on terrorism charges

The arrest of a Pakistani woman in Jeddah's Al-Naseem district during a security operation on Saturday has raised the number of Pakistanis detained for involvement in terror activities to 69.

Fatima Ramadan Balochi Murad was arrested along with her Saudi husband from an apartment in Al-Naseem district by security agencies following a tip-off, according to a Saudi Gazette report.

Last July, a Pakistani terrorist named Abdullah Qalzar Khan blew himself up near the Solaiman Fakeih Hospital in Jeddah.

Security authorities arrested 49 Pakistani residents and have been interrogating them since July.

A terrorism operation attempt was also foiled last October in Jeddah. It involved two Pakistanis - Solaiman Arab Deen and Farman Naqshaband Khan. They had planned to carry out blasts in the Al-Jowhara Stadium.

A recent Interior Ministry statement issued through its Tawasul (communications) portal said that 5,085 terror suspects from 40 countries are under detention in five intelligence prisons in the kingdom.

"There are 4,254 Saudis detained in intelligence prisons constituting the largest number of suspects. The Saudis are followed by 282 Yemenis and 218 Syrians. There are three suspects from the US and one each from France, Belgium and Canada," the statement said.