Another Pakistani held on terror charges

BY KASWAR KLASRA

PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD: It can happen only to the citizens of Pakistan that the US authorities find no hesitation to intercept and detain them on fake terrorism charges around the world, no matter if they are not liable of the allegations leveled against them.

While Obama administration seems to be on a campaign to harass and blackmail its much-trusted ally against war on terrorism by accusing and charging its citizens on absolutely fake terror charges, Saif-ur-Rehman is the fresh addition to already existing US terrorist list. Before this Shahzad Faisal and Afia Siddiqui have been faced with wrath of the US authorities.

This time another well-educated Pakistani Saif Ur Rehman Khan, fell prey to the wrath of US officials at US Embassy in Chile, who claimed to have found traces of an explosives material on his belongings.

One after the other accusations against the young Pakistanis by Obama administration have raised many eyebrows in Pakistan while a large number of Pakistanis is questioning as what do the US want from Pakistan by leveling baseless allegations against its citizens.

It is pertinent to mention here that U.S. officials took a Pakistani national into custody from US Embassy in Chile on Tuesday while a day later on Wednesday they confirmed the young man was taken into custody at the U.S. embassy in Chile after traces of TNT were detected on his belongings.

When contacted on Thursday Spokesperson of Foreign Office Abdul Basit confirmed this and said Pakistan’s Ambassador to Chile was in touch with authorities while efforts were on to get him (Saif-ur-Rehman) to get him free.

According to the detail available with TheNation, US officials said the young Pakistani had been invited to the embassy to clear up suspicions. Saif-ur-Rehman Khan, who had planned to return to the US (he had previously lived in Texas for three years), was about to have his U.S. visa revoked because of Washington’s fears about his activities.

According to US officials, on his arrival to the embassy in Chile, traces of explosives were found on his clothes, bag, and cell phone. The traces of chemical residues were of a military-use explosive, they said.

On this, young man was taken into custody while investigation was under its way in Chile according law of land. As a matter of fact, the investigators have not found anything from his possession that might serve as an evidence to level terrorism charges against him; Chile based sources told this correspondent when contacted on Thursday.

Family of the young Pakistani claim that Saif-ur-Rehman has been working as a receptionist in a hotel in Santiago’s Providencia neighborhood since January this year, completing an internship.

He received a degree in computer hardware engineering as well as languages (English and Urdu) from the University of Punjab, in Islamabad.

According to reports emanating from Chile, Saif-Ur Rehman Kahn will be held under Chile’s anti-terrorism law for five days to give Chilean authorities time to collect evidence. Under Chilean anti-terrorist law a suspect can be detained for up to ten days.

According to a media reports from Chile Rehman Kahn told a crowd of journalists at Universidad de Chile hospital (where he was taking after his arrest) that he is innocent and had “nothing to do with the bombs.”

A local journalist of well known English language daily of Chile told this correspondent when contacted on cell-phone on Thursday that investigators were likely to not to get evidence of accusations that the authorities are suspicious of.

” Pakistani, currently under interrogation in Chile, is calm and gentlemanly and doesn’t fit the popular image of a terrorist”, he said requesting anonymity.