PESHAWAR, Feb 7: An American woman arrested in Swat for staying after expiry of her visa, will be deported on Tuesday, official sources informed this correspondent on Monday.

It is learnt that the woman, identified only as Ms Catherine, was shifted to the Peshawar Central Prison on Sunday and would be handed over to the Special Branch for completion of the deportation process.

According to the sources officials of the US Consulate in Peshawar visited Swat for completing arrangements for her deportation.

An official of the Saidu Sharif police station confirmed to Dawn that they had arrested the woman under section 14 of the Foreigners Act after getting permission from senior officials. He added that she had been staying in a hotel in Marghuzar, a scenic spot in the district.

"The woman could not provide a satisfactory answer when asked why had she has been living in Swat after the expiry of her visa," he added. As to when her visa had expired, he said that he could not give the exact date. However, he did say that it had expired several weeks ago.

After her arrest she was produced before the court of the senior civil judge (Ala Ilaqa Qazi), Asghar Shah Khilji, who ordered her deportation.

The woman remained in the Swat prison for several days before being shifted to Peshawar.

The sources said that the woman could not explain the reason for her illegal stay even in the court.