Court remands US national in custody

PESHAWAR:

A court on Saturday remanded in custody an American national thought to have been working for a private security company, after he outstayed his Pakistani visa, police said.

The US embassy in Islamabad identified the man arrested Friday as Aaron Mark DeHaven.

Police said he was taken into custody from Falcon Complex, a residential area in the northwestern city of Peshawar that runs into the lawless tribal belt near the Afghan border.

“The American national was produced in the court, which sent him to jail on 14-day judicial remand,” local police official Hashmat Khan told AFP.

“He will now be produced before the court on March 14,” Khan added.

The decision was confirmed by the public prosecutor in the case, Javaid Khan, who said DeHaven was held under the Foreigners Act.

Meanwhile, an application seeking DeHaven’s bail was filed Saturday afternoon in the same court, his lawyer Fakhar Alam Jhagra said.

“The court will take up the bail application for hearing on Monday,” he said.

Members of the US consulate met with DeHaven today and also thanked the authorities for their cooperation.

The Peshawar police are also carrying out raids to find associates of De Haven to include them in the investigations into the case, reported Express 24/7.

The purpose of the visit by DeHaven, whose visa expired on October 23, was unclear but a security official told AFP he had been working with private security agency Catalyst in Islamabad.

The punishment for staying in Pakistan illegally is three months’ imprisonment or deportation, police said.