Peshawar court grants bail to US citizen

Peshawar court grants bail to Aaron Mark DeHaven, magistrate court extends his judicial remand till March 18.

PESHAWAR:

A court in Peshawar granted bail to US citizen Aaron Mark DeHaven on Monday and directed him to deposit Rs2 million to ensure his release.

The court noted that the petitioner has been behind bars for more than 10 days. During this period, investigations have been completed and he is no more wanted by the local police.

The petitioner’s counsel Sardar Ali Raza informed the court that his client has had eight visas since December 2007. Of these, four are visit visas, while others, including his last visa, were issued for business purposes.

DeHaven had established a construction company called Catalyst Services. His last visa was issued to his on January 16, 2010 and was valid up to October 23, 2010. On November 8, 2010, he wrote a letter to Board of Investment (BOI) and was later informed that the BOI could not grant him a visa.

DeHaven wrote another letter to BOI asking them to provide a forum where he could challenge the refusal. But before he could gets a response, the police arrested and booked the US national for overstaying his visa.

However, police say that DeHaven’s company, Catalyst Services, was a security contractor that provide security and accommodation to foreigners working on development projects in the region.

An earlier bail plea by DeHaven was rejected last week, but the grant of bail came after an appeal and followed a lower court’s extension of his judicial remand until March 18.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2011.