American arrest in Pakistan
An American was arrest in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. An American citizen, blacklisted and deported from the country in 2011 on charges of espionage, was arrested hours after his arrival at Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Saturday morning, the interior ministry said.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the grant of a Pakistani visa to Matthew Craig Barrett, the US citizen who was expelled from the country after he was allegedly caught spying on sensitive installations.
Barrett was picked up by FIA and police officials in a joint raid on a guest house in the capital. A case has been registered against two FIA immigration officials, Sub-Inspector Raja Asif and his son Ehteshamul Haq. Ehtesham has been arrested, while raids were being conducted to arrest his father, police sources said.
The minister has already suspended an assistant director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), as well as immigration staff that were on duty when Barrett was cleared by authorities at the airport. An interior ministry statement said that action would also be initiated against officials at the Pakistani consulate in Houston, who were responsible for issuing him a visa.