Detained Thais in Pakistan believed not connect with southern violence

BANGKOK, June 12 (TNA) - Thai Deputy Defence Minister and Army Chief General Udomdej Sitabutr says he believes that five Thai students who have been detained in Pakistan have no connection with violence in the Thai Far South. General Udomdej told journalists on Friday although some of the five students are native of the insurgency-affected Thai Far South, he believes they do not involve in violence in the region. General Udomdej assessed that the reason they carried a pistol was probably they bought it for personal use or someone asked them to buy it. According to the deputy defence minister and army chief, he has ordered military attaché to coordinate with the Thai Embassy to Pakistan to closely follow up updates and the outcome of an official investigation in the case by Pakistani authorities. The five Thai students were apprehended near midnight on June 8 by Lahore International Airport's authorities after one of them was found carrying the 9mm pistol and cartridges before boarding a flight home. Meanwhile, parents of the detained Thai students in Pakistan have asked the Thai government to help bring their children home. (TNA)