22,000 Pakistanis register with INS
WASHINGTON, March 21: The deadline for registration of Pakistani nationals with the US immigration department expired on Friday; almost 22,000 reported for registration.
The immigration officials, who had arrested scores of people from other countries during the campaign, were unusually lenient in dealing with Pakistanis, community leaders and Pakistan Embassy officials say.
Some Pakistanis who had been detained, were later released on bail and will now appear before immigration judges for further proceedings.
“More than a dozen may still be in custody,” said an official at the Pakistan Embassy.
“The Pakistani community was very helpful and cooperative. Some of them went out of their way to help those in trouble,” said Mohammed Sadiq, the deputy chief of mission in Washington.
AL QAEDA: The FBI has issued a nationwide alert for the arrest of Mohammed Sher Mohammed Khan, a Pakistani national. Khan is a pilot and was last seen in Miami, the FBI said.
“He is armed and dangerous and may be connected to Al Qaeda,” said an FBI directive.
But intelligence sources said that Khan may be the same as Adnan el-Shukrijumah, a 27-year-old Saudi national FBI is also looking for.
Shukrijumah is wanted for questioning in regard to a possible domestic terrorist plot.
Shukrijumah is thought to have a Guyanese passport and to have been trained as a pilot. The possibility that he is in the United States and could pose a threat was developed from questioning key Al Qaeda official Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was arrested in Pakistan earlier this month.
Shukrijumah, who uses the alias Ja’far al-Tayar and similar names, is between 5’3” tall and weighs at least 130 pounds.
FBI’s description for Khan fits that of el-Shukrijumah’s, although the FBI alert says Khan is 36-years-old and was born in Pakistan.
Federal agents recently raided a home in Miami where Khan was believed to be living, but failed to apprehend him. The original FBI warning about Khan acknowledged that the law enforcement agency was unsure of his name, age and place of birth. However, Khan is known to use the same aliases as Shukrijumah.