Criminal or gullible?
When Uzair Paracha graduated from IBA, with a business degree, majoring in marketing, only two things were on his mind. He wanted to marry his girlfriend, and take over the family business. February, 2003, 23-year old Uzair Paracha, while on business trip to the United States of America, was held by intelligence personnel and charged with terrorist conspiracy and assumed links to al-Qaeda. According to him, he was subjected to 72 hours of interrogation and torture, until his resolve broke and he relented to the FBI, telling them exactly what they wanted to hear. His confession is a product of fear and harassment.
From then on, his life has been a nightmare. Uzair Paracha who previously weighed 170 lbs, his frame has shrunk to a measly 114lbs. He is held in solitary confinement in a room that is approximately 6 feet by 8 feet, at Guantanamo Bay, which has the light on, 24 hours, a day.
Uzair upon his father’s request and his inherent naivet√©, checked the immigration status for a friend of a friend, Majid Khan. That was his crime, because Majid Khan was a suspected al-Qaeda’s ally. That fatal call to the INS caused his arrest for posing as an al-Qaeda operative. A jury charged Uzair guilty of terrorism charges for helping al-Qaeda’s man to slip into the US.
“Uzair Paracha is one of approximately fifty material witnesses who have been detained indefinitely in the United States in the past 2 years. He has since been charged on five counts, for providing material support to al-Qaeda, for which he has put in a plea of not guilty. His detention is a violation of amendments VI and VIII of the Bill of Rights, and Articles V-XI of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights most notably Article IX which states, “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile”.
Civil liberties groups have expressed their concerns about the highly coercive conditions such material witnesses have been subjected to, to the extent that, as a result of such interrogations, “they end up confessing to activities they never really took part in” (Michael Greenberger, director of the Centre for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland School of Law). We remind you of the number of cases recently where such detainees have confessed to crimes they did not commit, only for their innocence to later be proven, most notably the case of Egyptian student, Abdallah Higazy. ”
His girlfriend is married and his father also in confinement, the family is fast losing hope to achieve justice.
Moral of the Story: Love is not blind.
she married some other guy cuz she thought he wouldnt be able to make his way home.
so sad.
Beware, if you sign the petition you also will be arrested and charged as being part of the scheme.
You do not have FACTS ! you know only The story of “innocent”
ALL CRAP !
@Jamal you’ve got other version of the story to share with us?
… someone finally saw “Khuda Ke Liye” :)
On a more serious note, we must learn to be a more tolerant society and stand up against extremism, or else the stories of Guantanamo Bay won’t cease – and the World will continue to live in turmoil :(
HOW can these people be so inhumane?! I mean the poor guy is sitting in guantanama bay and some idiot goes “His gf married someone else.”
And yea there are two sides to every story, teh other side being over paranoid americans who want to lock up any one who is a threat to their “national security” I have a few names i would like to suggest, starting with their president. I mean american presidents, history has proved, are INCAPABLE of minding their own fucking business. They just want everything to be how THEY want it.”Vietnam should not be communist”, “Weapons of mass destruction”, WHERE? “Iran having nuclear power is a threat to the region”, oh and you completely destroyng two countries is not a threat now is it?
Poor guy, There’s only so much torture a person can endure before he gives up on his belief and will confess to anything.
God help us.
Uzair’s story, although tragic, in no way is it an isolated incident.
Sure the Americans are paranoid & have caught a lot of innocent ppl, but after the 9/11 events, can you blame them?
Any other country in the world would have had a worse reaction.
And what of the abductions in our own country??
Where is the petition for the thousands of ppl from all walks of life picked up not just at night, in their sleeps, but also in broad daylight with multiple eye-witnesses.
No one seems to really care about them.
Imran hit the nail on the head. We all need to be more tolerant and paitent…not beat ppl up if they overtook or honked while passing us by. (“The Man Iftikhar beat up”).
Trying to make a joke out of the post/being cynical without any proof = SAD!.
Think before you shoot your mouths(make a stupid post).
@mehreen
u wrote,
…..are INCAPABLE of minding their own fucking business.
mind your language too, dont spew shit out of ur potty mouth.
whats common between MEHREEN and LETRINE?
both are FILTHY.
>>His girlfriend is married http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/22/nyregion/22terror.html?ex=1190174400&en=b13bb7d8915f8063&ei=5070
D0C – share the story here ?? It is in media of those days.
Check out Herald R-KiVz ! and you will find the story. even the father is also tried and arrested by the SINDH High Court, money laundering for the radical groups. evidence and notes submitted by the FBI and State Bank of Pakistan.
for a clue – the family is linked with a money changer. ! :)
This post is quiete misleading…The indictment is here:
“UZAIR PARACHA agreed with others to assist Al-Qaeda by coming to the United States, posing as a person PARACHA knew to be an Al-Qaeda associate, obtaining immigration documents that
would permit the Al-Qaeda associate to enter the United States, and conducting financial transactions involving the Al-Qaeda associate’s bank accounts.”
http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/242.pdf
shut up @alam. u are jsuta piece of shit and always speak shit
sad ~ Alam is not responsible for Uzair, neither he married his GF.
everything is in the papers, after indictment by Sindh high court and hardcore money laundering via abn amro bank, the evidence state bank provided for THICK money transfers Inward & Outward his father was also sentenced and placed in jail., later transferred to American prison with few others.
why flaming and bad mouthing for alam ? only because he posted some links.
What a bloody baseless post! I mean look at the names in the petition, most of them are already gone (resigned) and Mushy and Bushy are counting their days so exactly whats the point of having their names in the petition? You guys are bloody jokers really. Why don’t we clean the shit in our house first before accusing other (Americans) of violating human rights. You guys can’t even question your own bloody Mushy about hundreds of people he sold and missing. Bloody hell.
Perhaps my friend Red_Munk = Surkh Bandar will throw some more light on this.
@JAMAL : i thought u r a wise person. these kinda links are all over the internet. hatred is being spread against muslims. i can show many links like that
and i have said this against @alam coz he always talks like that. he has no rite to taunt on the muslims. he shud take bath first
@CHI PA LEE , u r very rite
why dragging muslim / islam into it the topic is not about islam / muslim – :)
isn’t it about Uzair and his GF :)
Obviously Mr. Paracha committed a crime by acting like someone else. However, that does not mean that he was supporting AQ. That’s the key question here.
I don’t think anyone disagrees that he should be punished for lying to the government. The question is whether the punishment fits the crime and that will be the focus of his upcoming trial.
Having said that, before we go accusing the United States, we should look at our own house and clean it up first.
BTW, I dont think Paracha was a religous fanatic himself…I just think he was greedy, and AQ offered him 200K USD and he went for it. He might not know that the person belongs to AQ (that is alleged in indictment), but still its a big crime.
@IUnknown
By using this kind of language in your so-beloved month of Ramzan, u r just proving that you r a mainstrem Muslim. I am just glad I am out of your hood
most of the big names in business here in pakistan are carry out hundi type financial transactions worth millions of dollars on daily basis.. that doesn’t really mean that they’re all terrorist or are aiding international terrorists.. they’re genuine businesses just using unconventional means to carry out transactions…
@DOCTOR
Well, was everyone from Kalia was arrested in the last 7 years? No. So it is wrong to suggest that paracha and his father were apprehended because they were doing or associated with hundi. If u read the indictment, there is no allegation of hundi as illegal means.
The allegation is restricted to assisting AQ person outside USA to enter USA by posing as him and doing transactions.
Once again, u can read the indictment here:
http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/242.pdf
The indictment can be false and based on malintentions, but lets not say Paracha was arrested for asking about the status of his friend or being involved in hundi.
@Alam
And if our Pro-American, Pro-Guantanmo friend opens his eyes he may see the reality.
The post clearly says that Uzair was forced to confess under duress. Certainly, after the Patriot Act such activities have become rampant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Act
Try educating yourself, because these trials are no way transparent. The Jury itself suffers from islamophobia, and is not impartial.
Try searching “Stupid Americans” on youtube and you will get your answers.
@All
I think we should realize the seriousness of this issue rather than posting insane comments about the victims girlfriend.
Hope you understand.
@alam: im also glad that u r not among us. Thank GOD. ppl like u are like cancer in humanity. they never die even.
I would say a human being would support Paracha.
@SILVER
if he was forced under duress, then how come the AQ’s driving license, papers were recovered from Parach’s possession? How do u explain this?
I am not saying Americans might not have erred here, but lets not say they arrested an angel here. There might be more innocents in Gitmo then him.
Lets not put “the touch of humanity” here by saying his “girlfriend” got married to someone else. (not sure who should I sympathise with? him or the gf? )
duh!!
the ppl who “DID” bombing at london (a.k.a 7/7), had their pakistani passports in their pockets.
do u believe it??
If they can have paki passports in their pockets, then y not AQ’s license and other docs !!
Sounds soooooo stupid. A person, who went to do bizness , was arrested as an Alqaida memeber. wat a shame on lamers!!
Has alqaida started his business developement deprt. now??/
@Alam: tu apni choonch band kare ga ya doo tujhe do char chapaire? Badmaash kahin ke! Teri ghunda gardi nahi chale gi.
@IUnknown: yaar time barbaad na kar is khabees per. He is like a cancer in humanity. Whatever information has been given to Alam has entered his head and desperately searched for his brain. But Alam’s brain was nowhere to be found. Therefore, don’t waste anymore of your precious time on him.
Ramzan Mubarak, Musalmano !
Earn as many sawab as possible…this might be your last chance, hahaha
lol @ CHI PA LEE
Brain not found … sounds very similar to file not found
@alam: ramzan main tu sawab ziada ho jata hay.. we earn sawaab whole year
last chance tu us ka hay which has not GOD and no brain ,hence ..
take that
Paracha studied w me, and… while some of his other friends raved about him and his absolute devotion to his lady , I didnot find him trustwable in financial dealing. He was a little shady. That’s my expereience and nothing to do with what i later learned through TIMe or was it newsweek? That he was arrested etc.
In graduate school, he created a TV program about the internet for which he shot a few episodes. Each episode was topical, on subjects like internet for education, Islam on the internet, etc etc. He was well off, ppl knew… but he didnt pay the researchers the fee he promised. Even though he filmed the programs and was abt to air them.
So i never really trusted the guy since.
On another note now, prisoner treatment in G-bay is inhumane, whether they are guilty or not. That’s a different matter, and maybe I wont say FREE PARACHA b/c i remember (not sure) that he had helped some alleged bombers in KHI. If that’s true, he has to deal with the consequences. BUT – his rights as a human and a prisoner remain and he has a right to a free and fair trial, and civilised treatment.
A lot has happened since 9/11. Facts need to be separated and seen individually in each case. Lumping together all things into the INNOCENT or GUILTY basket is not the answer.
What happened after 9/11 was that a lot of younng men (and maybe women) started having delusions of graduer. Like the kick one feels after watching Kill Bill. They started imagining themselves to be martyrs and heroes and what not, and the conversations were crazy after 9/11.
The truth is that for a week, until the horror of 9/11 – and the realization of US anger sank in – there was a lot of “NOW america will understand how it feels.” Even though ppl around the world want to disown it now like it never happened, but this was a feeling around the globe. Its the kind of behavior that the only good-looking rich snob in the class faces when they trip and fall.
Global governemnts were NOT supporting the USA – and the next thing we know, they are attacked also, and join US in fear – another story which will always be a mystery to global citizens like us: i.e. why do Al Qaeda make the case against them stronger?
Meanwhile many Pakistanis started imagining they wre in the big bang bang movie, tearing down buildings, filling hearts with terror. They did and said a lot of stupid things. Should they be holding the same conversations now, 56% of Pakistan would get under house arrest.
While friends support Paracha out of god faith, we never know. Was he just starring in his mental glorious movie? Was he really involved? Or was he innocent?
We have to face the possibility that amongst us are people who are funding bombings, funding the likes of people in Lal Masjid – another case which grew dangerous with support from high-up benefactors until it burst in the nation’s face.
As a Muslim, and a human being with common sense, we have to take a moral stand. Blind following and support doesn’t cut it. Who amongst us is financing and supporting crime and terror? Could they be our friends, b/c influential people have frineds and a social circle? What is the stance that we should take? What should our reaction be to every conversation in which a friend seems to be supporting crime and terror? It’s not a joke.
The citizens shouldnt sleep-walk themselves into supporting or opposing anything.
*Should they be holding the same conversations now, 56% of Pakistan would get under house arrest.*
I say this b/c to those who dont yet know – all conversations on phones, cellphones, sms, internet emails etc – are being tracked officially. Then theres unofficial eavesdropping. DONT discuss money, personal affairs, political imaginations, and kill bill fantasies unless youre ready to own up to them. Esp talks baout money should be made in person and rude people who ask stupid personal questions like another post in KMB mentioned should be cut off. I learned a trick: ask back, Why do you want to know?
EXcuse me for the continued rant, but there’s something very important that I share with as many ppl as I can:
Pakistanis have a way of indulging in petty crimes abroad. Claiming fake insurance, rebates, damages… etc. Rich or poor, that’s the way of the pakistanis. How can we make 500USd extra? How can we take advantage of the trusting Americans who will coolly accept our story about being robbed, and replace our goods thanks to insurance? If it can happen, we will try it just to prove we are smart. b/c that’s the destiny of a people who have no self-respect, no izzat, no purpose, and only the capacity to quote the Holy Books and persons without shame. I still never stop being shocked at how some people BOAST they swindled others and consider it great brain-work. A more common attitude outside Karachi – so maybe the audience here might not readily recognize this status symbols of more feudal-minded Pakistanis.
Ayway. We as a nation have a tendency to help out in lying and deceit. Fake certificates, fake recommendations, fake medical check-ups before leaving for Umra (which my travel agent did for me once, but never upon my life am i going to the Haram as a liar again!), covering up for lying and cheating and deceiving friends – it doesn’t bother most of us at all.
What many people dont realize is that each such activity is tracked, and added to their composite profile. Credit card companies were never fooled, btw, when we used other people’s cards to order stuff online. The truth was that a few years ago, the cost of reaching, arresting, and charging a criminal was much higher than the theft or fraud they were involved in. So CitiBank never slept, it simply watched until the threshold was crossed.
Each time a person says something incriminating, involves in such petty crimes, or engages in mindless conversations with strangers, they are contributing towards their profile. (Haan ji! I say all __________ should be killed! Aik dafa hi maar do! Mera toh khud dil chahta hai! – can get you in trouble. Believe it or not, there are listeners and informers everywhere now, which is how many people are being arrested before they commit a crime, just because they expressed a wish to Kill Bill.)
The Western Intelligence agencies have for years used a system much similar to what is now Orkut/ Facebook. They have profiles of a person, to which they add any known contacts of that person, and activities of the person. Just like Orkut. If a person’s network starts showing too many dangerous friends, they are marked down as being a potential threat.
This system was only previously not shared amongst agencies, which is how some criminals slipped between the info gaps, but the systems are quickly integrating. Think NADRA – also funded heavily for the same purpose, to have ONE INTEGRATED ID for each citizen – required for efficiency as well as security.
Global corporations are already paying global central trackers to profile our each and every move, and government can now subpoena this information.
It’s stupid – completely stupid – in such a situation for people in tech-sophisticated countries like the USA to be helping out friends with illegal stuff – such as pretending to be in the country when they are not.
Just warn your brothers and sisters abroad to curtly deny all assistance to anyone who wants them to claim even a lost wallet on their behalf. Apart from terrorism, this was always a trackable offense, only it was too costly to run after every such petty theft. But they know. And so should any wanna-be gangsta hero(ine).
In the case of my umra, i didnt know how it worked I was all looking fwd to “getting ready” when I found I am already immunized… so i learned we should also get used to learn the ways of paperwork and how proper legal stuff works. I don’t let other people handle my papers and processes now, and have asked my bank manager to hold classes to instruct females in particular to be smarter with their banking.
Many people are pushed around by smarter folks who tell them how to handle paperwork.
It’s not useful to blame THEM (American, aliens, fate, other people) for everything. We have things to take care of and lessons to learn.