Pakistani man vows to move UK court if son deported

PESHAWAR: Father of a Pakistani student arrested in Britain has announced to move court in the United Kingdom, if his son was deported before completing his studies.

Abid Naseer, one of the 11 Pakistanis arrested in the UK on suspected involvement in a terrorist plot, is going to complete his studies in information technology and his visa would expire in September this year, said Nasrullah Jan Khattak, father of Abid, while talking to media persons at his residence in Hayatabad here Monday.

“Our government took no step for the release of my son and the other Pakistani students arrested in a fictitious case due to which the worries of their families are multiplying. If my son is deported before completion of his studies, I will move court in England to seek justice,” he said.

Nasrullah said after doing his graduation from the historic Islamia College Peshawar, his son went to England for higher education in information technology. “I spent a lot of money on the education of my son. I will ask for the money I spent on sending him to England and his educational requirements there,” he declared.

The worried father said that his family had suffered a deep shock and insult as a result of the arrest of his son, who, he added, was innocent and had no links with any terrorist or militant organisation. “He is being punished for sporting beard and offering five-time prayers,” he said.

He rejected as baseless the reports that appeared in the British media that his son belonged to tribal areas, saying he hailed from Yaghi area of Ghulamkhel tribe in Takht Nusrati tehsil of Karak district. Nasrullah said that besides Abid, he had six sons and a daughter. “We shifted to Peshawar in 1987,” he added. The aggrieved citizen said his was a religious-minded family but this does not mean that his son had any link with a terrorist group. He urged the government to take prompt and effective measures for an early release of all the arrested Pakistani students. The government should also take steps to save the careers of all the arrested students, as in case of their deportation their future would be spoiled, he said.