Case continues: FIA uncovers Ohio ex-deputy treasurer’s Lahore address

Court grants agency one-day physical remand; suspect could be handed over to US.

LAHORE:

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has traced the residential address mentioned in the birth certificate of former deputy treasurer for the US state of Ohio and ex-Chicago city comptroller, Amer Ahmad.

The birth certificate was issued by the Lahore Union Council No.93 with the stamp of the respective Secretary Union Council on April 24, 2014. Ahmad is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery charges.

Ahmad was arrested from Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore while travelling to Pakistan from Mexico on a forged visa and passport. The FIA on Friday presented Ahmad before the court of the judicial magistrate seeking an extension of physical remand; duty magistrate Tariq Mehmood Kahot has granted a day’s extension, even as the agency requested a seven-day remand period. The FIA has opened an investigation on charges of entering Pakistan on forged documents and Interpol has issued a red notice for Ahmad.

Sources said that in fact the judicial magistrate, Section 30, Mazhar Hussain Ramy was on leave and the duty magistrate usually granted a day’s physical remand in an interim arrangement. The FIA requested a further physical remand in order to carry out an investigation. According to the law, the FIA can request a total physical remand for a maximum of 14 days; however, the court may, at its own discretion, determine the period of physical remand.

The FIA team visited the address listed on Ahmad’s birth certificate – in Lahore’s Samanabad area – and found tenants residing here. Neighbours said various tenants have occupied the house over a period of time, according to sources. Women residing at the address were not aware of Ahmad’s arrival in Pakistan or his link with this particular residence.

Discrepancies in the case

The case has raised questions regarding the FIA’s authority to take into custody a foreign national wanted by the FBI and Interpol. The agency has obtained the record of Ahmad’s parents from the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), while the agency is yet to confirm with documentary evidence whether Amer was born in Pakistan. Ahmad also failed to provide any valid evidence which shows he was born in Pakistan.

According to documents available with The Express Tribune, Ahmad was born in Ohio on September 21, 1974, and not Lahore. A certificate issued by the Ohio Department of Health Division of Vital Statistics confirmed the date and location of Ahmad’s birth as Saint Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio. Ahmad’s parents’ names are listed on this certificate.

Sources familiar with the matter revealed that despite the fact that a formal treaty between Pakistan and United States regarding the extradition of citizens of both countries does not exist, in some cases Pakistan and the US have obliged each other in the case of extradition of wanted criminals. Former president of Bank of Punjab Hamesh Khan, for instance, held dual nationality in Pakistan and the US but was deported to Pakistan by US authorities in 2010 in the multi-billion-rupee Harris Steel Mills loan fraud case.

Sources added that Ahmad was apprehended by the FIA on ‘minor charges’ and in such cases, the accused is often released after a fine or on bail. Officials said a huge amount of foreign currency carried by Ahmad upon his arrival in Lahore raised suspicion, and that it was on these grounds that FIA immigration officials decided to take legal action under the relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and Emigration Ordinance. Sources said that due to Interpol’s red notice and the accusation of fraud in the US, Ahmad is likely to be handed over to US authorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2014.