Lawyer unaware as Pakistani testifies before jury

BOSTON: One of the three Pakistani men arrested on immigration charges in New England last month, as part of the investigation into the Times Square bombing attempt, was called to testify before a federal grand jury in Boston, on Thursday, said his lawyer.

None of the three men have been charged criminally, but the assembling of a grand jury indicates that prosecutors may be pursuing criminal charges as part of the ongoing investigation, according to The Boston Globe.

Pir Khan, a 43-year-old taxi driver from Watertown, who has been jailed without bail since his arrest on May 13, appeared before the grand jury in US District Court in Boston, according to his lawyer, Saher J

The lawyer said he was not notified by the authorities about his client’s appearance before the grand jury, rather learned of it from one of the suspect’s roommates, who had also testified.

“The subpoena should be very clear that he is entitled to have a lawyer present outside the grand jury,’’ he said, pointing out that a witness cannot bring a lawyer into the secret proceedings, but may step outside to seek advice from a lawyer before answering questions before the grand jury. The suspect was arrested during a series of raids in the US that were conducted as part of the investigation into the May 1 attempted car bombing in Times Square. Also arrested were his cousin, Aftab Ali Khan, 27, who worked at a Brookline gas station and with whom he shared an apartment, and Mohammad Shafiq Rahman, a 33-year-old computer programmer from South Portland, Maine.

Government officials have said that the three men might have handled informal money transfers for Faisal Shahzad – the prime suspect of the failed bombing– but it was unclear whether they knew that the funds would be used for a terrorist attack.

A government lawyer alleged that Aftab had Shahzad’s phone number saved in his phone, as well as written on an envelope found in his apartment.

However, lawyer Macarius, who also represents Aftab, said that the suspect denies having Shahzad’s phone number or any connection with the botched Times Square attack.

“I don’t think he did anything wrong. I believe that the government is trying to build a case on an immigration violation . . . because they have nothing against him with regard to the Times Square bombing attempt,’’ the lawyer said Last week, an immigration judge in Boston ordered Aftab to be deported for overstaying his visa, but his lawyer said it could take a long time for his case to wind its way through the system.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2010.