Canadian Arrested in Afghanistan

[George Wallace]

This should open some eyes:

Reported in accordance to the Fair Dealings Act.

Canadian citizen arrested in Kabul: report

A Canadian citizen has been arrested in Kabul on suspicion of attending a militant training camp, according to a newspaper report.


The man's identity hasn't been released, but he is a 24-year-old man of Pakistani origin, the Globe and Mail reported on Friday.

The man used to live in Calgary and was carrying a Canadian passport at the time of his arrest, said the report.

Foreign Affairs has confirmed a Canadian has been arrested and embassy staff have consular access to him, said the newspaper.

Afghan police reportedly arrested the man at a police station in Kabul within the past few days.

They allege he travelled to an insurgent camp in the Waziristan region of Afghanistan, an area along the border with Pakistan where it's believed Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters are based.

More than 2,000 Canadians are serving in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar region as part of the NATO-led mission. Since the mission started five years ago, 54 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed.

With files from the Canadian Press

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[KwaiLo]

It makes me sad that he was willing to carry arms against the people who took him in.

 

[KevinB]

At 24 he was 18 (ish) when 911 happened.

  It irks me to no end that treason still is not a capital offence.

 

[GAP]

If the Afghan government can make the accusations stick, Canada needs to wash its' hands of this jerk, void his citizenship/status and leave him to his chosen lifestyle. Even if the charges don't stick, revoke his citizenship/status and ship him back to Pakistan.

Better yet, take out the garbage...

 

[Juvat]

I agree, his citizenship should be revoked and he should be barred entry to Canada.  Let him enjoy Afghan hospitality for an indefinite period of time.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

More on the arrest from th G & M:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070511.wafghan11/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

 

[Flip]

I believe the liberals now have a new poster boy.

If he stubs his toe, the liberals will scream bloody blue murder.
If he disappears, the liberals will scream.
If he isn't rushed right home for a cup of hot cocoa the liberals will scream.

I hope the Afghans can prove something.
But then what?

 

[Mike Baker]

It irks me to no end that treason still is not a capital offence.

If the Afghan government can make the accusations stick, Canada needs to wash its' hands of this jerk, void his citizenship/status and leave him to his chosen lifestyle. Even if the charges don't stick, revoke his citizenship/status and ship him back to Pakistan.

Better yet, take out the garbage...

+1 on both parts.

 

[NL_engineer]

At 24 he was 18 (ish) when 911 happened.

  It irks me to no end that treason still is not a capital offence.

If the Afghan government can make the accusations stick, Canada needs to wash its' hands of this jerk, void his citizenship/status and leave him to his chosen lifestyle. Even if the charges don't stick, revoke his citizenship/status and ship him back to Pakistan.

Better yet, take out the garbage...

1+ to both

 

[GUNS]

Step softly but carry a big stick.

Remember the Arar million dollar payout.

Maybe this person will claim he was tortured by the Afghan's and want millions of dollars as well.

If it worked once.....

 

[medaid]

once his citizenship is revoked, he's no longer the Canadian government's problem. I say revoke them once we can prove that he was attending a Terrorist Training Camp.

 

[Dale Denton]

Step softly but carry a big stick.

Remember the Arar million dollar payout.

Maybe this person will claim he was tortured by the Afghan's and want millions of dollars as well.

If it worked once.....

"Step softly but carry a big stick." Seems you know American history, but how does Roosevelt's poilcy in S. America have to do with this?
Wasn't it proved that he was sent and tortured in Syria?

+1 to all above posts

 

[warspite]

  It irks me to no end that treason still is not a capital offence.

I'm clapping as I read this....

 

[cameron]

If he's willing to take up arms against a country that granted him citizenship, especially while so many others are fighting and dying for that country, then that citizenship should be revoked, and whatever the Afghans do to him is his damn problem, NOT Canada's.  I also agree with Infidel-6, time to start making these kinds of people swing in the wind (got rope anyone?).

 

[The Bread Guy]

I'm pleased to see SOMEONE of the faith in Canada at least tried to get him straight.  Also, we appear to have a name, too - not much success with Googling, though, because the name appears to be a reasonably common one, shared by some doctors, academics and journalists.  Shared with the usual disclaimer....

Alberta imam believes he met man held in Kabul
COLIN FREEZE, Globe and Mail, 12 May 07
Article link

An Alberta imam says he's almost certain he knows the identity of the young Canadian being held in Afghanistan on suspicion of joining the insurgency.

Sheikh Alaa Elsayed says that just a few months ago he urged a University of Calgary computer-science student, who had been “brainwashed” by Internet propaganda, to dispense with notions of fighting the jihad in Afghanistan. The young man's father was so worried his son would go overseas to fight for Islam that he arranged a conference with the cleric.

Imam Elsayed, who now fears he failed to persuade the young man, says he is free to talk about the substance of the meeting but not to disclose the identity of the participants because he hasn't spoken to the family this week.

“You are going to put 65,000 Muslims in Calgary in jeopardy,” he recalls telling the young man, warning him that his Afghanistan plans were not supported by Islam and could prompt a severe backlash.

“His father was in a desperate mood,” the imam recalled, saying the talk was set up as a last-ditch attempt to keep the young man in Canada.

Friday, The Globe and Mail reported that Afghan police detained a Canadian on suspicion of joining the insurgency after he allegedly attended a training camp in Waziristan, Pakistan.

He was identified only as a 24-year-old of Pakistani origin whose family lived in Manchester, England, before moving to Calgary. Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay Friday said he couldn't comment on the case for “privacy reasons.”

But Imam Elsayed, who is well regarded among Calgary Muslims for his outgoing nature and his facility with youth, said the description of the prisoner matches the young man he chastised, right down to the suspect's age and “where he wanted to go.”

The imam said he had used the Koran to back up his arguments about the sanctity of life, the nuance of non-violent jihad and exhortations against unjust war. But the young man said he was going to Afghanistan because “he heard on the Internet it is an obligation on all Muslims to do this.”

The imam said he has turned around other young Muslims drawn to an angry, “cut-and-paste” interpretation of Islam that's making the rounds on the Internet. But it can't always be done: “It's difficult to make a U-turn when you're full throttle ahead,” he said.

The identity of the potential jihadi st from Calgary was much discussed in Alberta after Friday prayers Friday. The new president of the Muslim Students Association at the University of Calgary said he thinks he met the prisoner at school last year.

“You would see him in the hall,” Shiraz Khan said. But, he added, “I haven't seen him for a long time, probably since he graduated – I believe it was last year.”

He said the young man was very quiet and didn't mix with other students.

Emissaries of the Canadian government have visited the prisoner, who is being held in Kabul. Canadian officials do not generally confirm the identity of prisoners held abroad unless families give their consent.


Albertan held in Afghan terror probe
CanWest News Service, 12 May 07
Article link

An Alberta man arrested in Kabul and under investigation for possible ties to terrorism could face trial in Afghanistan depending on the outcome of the police probe, Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada said yesterday.

Sohail Qureshi, 24, who graduated with a degree in computer science from the University of Calgary last year, was taken into custody in the Afghan capital this week because of suspicions he had attended militant training camps in Pakistan.

In Halifax, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said the man was getting help from the Canadian embassy in Kabul. "At this point in time, for privacy reasons, we're not at liberty to say a lot about this case, but it is somewhat unusual." A Canadian citizen of Pakistani heritage, Qureshi left the country three months ago and did not return as planned in April. Omar Samad, Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada, cautioned that his government was still trying to confirm the identity of the man arrested by Afghan police.

"It seems that he may have left Canada prior to going to Pakistan and is of South Asian origin, who may have immigrated from another country to Canada," the ambassador said.

"This is not the first time that we see individuals that may have citizenship of a Western country, or any country, but also sympathies to radicalism and sympathies with terrorist organizations," Samad said.

"We've had all kinds of people in the past with this type of involvement. That's why it's so important for all of us, and for all countries to be very careful in not being too lax." He said the investigation was still in the early stages, but that if police forward the case to the attorney general for prosecution, the Canadian will be given a defence lawyer.

 

[George Wallace]

This will also give weight to one side in the Dual Citizenship Debate.  Even though Pakistan was once a part of the British Empire, will that change opinions as to whether or not British and Commonwealth Subjects should be allowed to keep their Citizenship, should they emigrate to Canada?  Will the changes in 'Politics' in their home nation become more relevant than their former status as 'Allies' or Commonwealth members?

 

[GUNS]

From what I have read, they know he was in Syria because the American's sent him there.

If I missed something that states otherwise, then they have no actual proof that he was tortured but him saying so.

"Step softly but carry a big stick." Seems you know American history, but how does Roosevelt's policy in S. America have to do with this?
Wasn't it proved that he was sent and tortured in Syria?

+1 to all above posts

 

[cameron]

I support dual citizenship, It would be unfair for someone to have to surrender citizenship of their country of birth because of changes in the political landscape back home which they had no control over.  But if they're going to abuse their Canadian citizenship, then I say throw them to the wolves back home.

 

[sandyson]

I have difficulty with joint citizenships.  The joint status is like a committee--there is always "on the other hand."  The legal issue needs a sharp line of definition.  E.g. Canadians may not be dual citizens,  Canadians of the Federal age of majority may not be dual, or dual citizenship expires after accepting Canadian citizenship for say 5 years.  The press seems to report more frequently of Canadians of joint citizenship being involved in the troubles of other countries.  E.g. a Canadian is a prominent member of the Scottish independence movement.  For our own reputation-perhaps safety, I think we cannot afford to permit joint citizenship and therefore need some clear legal definition wherein trouble makers such as this Pakistani can be castoff.  On the other hand I am assuming the story is true in all details.

 

[George Wallace]

Well the plot thickens:

From msn.ctv.ca.  Posted under the Fair Dealings Act....

Canadian was on suicide mission, Afghans claim

If his reported admissions to Afghan authorities are true, a young Canadian man of Pakistani origin went to Afghanistan to die as a suicide bomber -- just like his brother.

"(Afghan authorities) say in the written statement that the Canadian has admitted to planning to carry out a suicide bomb attack in the city," CTV's Steve Chao told Newsnet on Saturday.

"It also goes on to say that he confessed that his brother was the suicide bomber behind a Sept. 30 attack last year in Kabul that happened in the main gate of the government office.

"You may recall that this was one of the more spectacular or massive bomb attacks in Kabul in recent years. It killed as many as 12 people and injured more than 42."

Chao issued a caution: "We want to stress that these are incredible revelations that have yet to be confirmed. And at this point, we understand that the Canadian has not been charged with any crime. But if it turns out to be true, it will be the first time in several years that two Canadian brothers or a Canadian family has been involved in Afghanistan fighting alongside or for the Taliban or al Qaeda."

In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs spokesman Rejean Beaulieu  told The Canadian Press that he couldn't confirm any Canadian had been involved in the 2006 Kabul bombing, adding he was "not aware of this."

Chao said details are murky about how the Canadian ended up in Afghanistan.

He apparently left Calgary about three months ago and made his way to Pakistan where he trained with insurgents in the lawless border region with Afghanistan, before eventually travelling into Afghanistan, where he was arrested in a Kabul bus station after arriving in the capital city, he said.

"He appeared nervous, authorities pulled him aside, and eventually arrested him. During interrogation, he admitted to being a suicide bomber," Chao said.

While neither Foreign Affairs nor Afghan authorities have identified the man, both have confirmed that a Canadian is being held in a Kabul prison reserved for terrorists, Chao said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said consular officials have been given access to the prisoner, but he would say little else.

In Calgary, an Alberta imam has said he is almost certain he met the young Canadian man who has been arrested in Afghanistan and is being held on allegations he joined the insurgency.

The Globe and Mail reports that several months ago, Sheikh Alaa Elsayed urged a University of Calgary computer science student to give up his ideas of fighting with insurgents in Afghanistan.

He told The Globe that Internet propaganda had "brainwashed" the man. The father was so worried his son would go overseas to fight that he arranged for him to sit down with the imam.

The cleric now says he is afraid he failed to convince the young man to abandon his ideas.

"You are going to put 65,000 Muslims in Calgary in jeopardy," he said he told him, warning that his Afghanistan plans were not supported by Islam and could prompt a severe backlash against other Muslims.

The imam refused to reveal the identity of the young man.

However, in some reports, he has been named as 24-year-old Sohail Qureshi.

Elsayed said he had not spoken to the young man's family recently, but vowed to be there for them if he was needed.

"I would presume that the family is under serious stress tonight," Elsayed told Newsnet on Saturday.

"I actually did not try to contact them. I will give them also the respect and the time that they need for now. But, however, if they wish to contact me, I'll be more than happy to be there for them."

Elsayed told CP he couldn't confirm the claim that the detained man's brother had been a suicide bomber.

With files from The Canadian Press

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