A Pakistani arrested in Massachusetts during the investigation of the failed New York Times Square car bombing was deported to Pakistan on Sunday, federal authorities said, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.
Aftab Ali Khan, 28, was accompanied by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on a flight from Logan International Airport to Islamabad, the agency said in a statement. Aftab, his uncle and a man in Maine were arrested on charges of immigration violations two weeks after the failed bombing attempt on May 1, 2010.
“Aftab pleaded guilty last month to immigration and illegal money-transfer charges and was sentenced to time served. He did not face terrorism-related charges”.
Aftab, who lived in Watertown, came to the US in August 2009 on a 90-day visa to get married.
The report continued: “Prosecutors alleged that Khan gave $4,900 to Faisal Shahzad … who was later convicted in the bombing attempt. They said it was part of a transaction to get an equivalent amount of money to Aftab’s family in Pakistan”.
Aftab was not accused of knowing what Shahzad intended to do with the money, said the report, but investigators said they uncovered fraudulent immigration documents and that Aftab lied to them while they were investigating the Shahzad case.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 24th, 2011.
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