U.S. to File Terrorism Charges Against Pakistani Detainee (Uzair Paracha)

Washington Post ^ | August 6, 2003 | Dan Eggen

[Shermy]

Federal authorities expect to file terrorism charges soon against a detained Pakistani man with ties to the shipping industry and links to a senior al Qaeda leader, law enforcement officials said yesterday.

Uzair Paracha, 23, has been secretly detained as a material witness since his arrest March 31 in the offices of a New York clothing import firm owned by his father, sources said. Authorities believe the Paracha family business may have been used as cover for attempts to smuggle al Qaeda operatives or weapons into the United States, according to several sources familiar with the case.

Paracha's father, who owns a Pakistani textile company that routinely shipped large containers of clothing and other goods into Newark, was last seen as he tried to board an airplane in Karachi a month ago. He was arrested by Pakistani police and has been held incommunicado ever since, according to local press reports and two U.S. officials with knowledge of the case.

.....snip.....

In addition, two law enforcement officials said, Paracha has been linked to Iyman Faris, an Ohio truck driver who pleaded guilty May 1 to providing material support to a terrorist organization. Ricco said he does not know of any ties between the two.

Faris met with Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders, and plotted to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge and launch a terrorist attack against Washington, according to court papers. Faris had numerous ties to the shipping and cargo business, and had considered starting a garment-shipping business like the one associated with Paracha, according to officials and court documents.

....snip...

[Shermy]

Checking the name "Paracha" on the web I got a couple of Qaeda hits. Then I got a "bingo" for "Saifullah Paracha":

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/aug2003-daily/06-08-2003/world/w2.htm

"...Meanwhile, Paracha's father, who also works in the shipping industry, is in US custody as well. Saifullah Paracha runs a clothing export business in Pakistan that ships goods to the United States...."

Search "Saifullah Paracha" on the net - lots on him, lots with religious overtones.

http://www.dawn.com/2003/07/25/local3.htm He's involved with Al Qaeda.

Other: http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/alumni_friends/class_notes.html

Saifullah graduated with an engineering degree from Univ. Cal Berkeley in the 1950's.

[Shermy]

Ping.

[Cindy]

FOX NEWS.com: "NEW YORK MAN WITH SUSPECTED AL QAEDA TIES MAY FACE CHARGES" (ARTICLE NOTE: The "New York-based Pakistani man" is identified as Uzair Paracha.) (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Meanwhile, Paracha's father, who also works in the shipping industry, is in U.S. custody as well. Saifullah Paracha runs a clothing export business in Pakistan that ships goods to the United States.") (August 5, 2003) (Read More...)

[Betty Jo]

Is there more than one "Saifullah Paracha?"

A senator in Pakistan in 1997?

A defeated Punjabi and Urdu speaking politiican?

Owner of a new 2001 Urdu speaking TV station,designed to tell Europeans about Islam?

Hmmmmm....

[Shermy]

The fellow at "Wooster" is spelled "Peracha"


And whoa! Remember those stories near Canton, with the alleged terrorists who recently went on trial in Detroit, even involving Shishani as a dubious witness?

< /head spinning>

[Shermy]

Does Uzair's daddy have a ancient whale species named after him, Quetta Cyonparachai?

52m-year-old fossil on display

No joke.

[Betty Jo]

Too, too funny!

I think his name must be like John Smith.

[Betty Jo]

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20030808_820.html

he is charged!

[Betty Jo]

Saturdays NY Times says the man he helped is Majid Khan who lived in Baltimore.

[Shermy]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-9-2003_pg1_3

Sept. 4, 2003

Saif Paracha detained at Bagram: ICRC

By Maqbool Ahmed

KARACHI: Businessman Saifullah Paracha, who had disappeared from the Karachi Airport in mysterious circumstances on July 5, has been detained by the US authorities at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, shows a letter written by Mr Paracha in his own hand that was dispatched to his wife, Mrs Farhat Paracha, by a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Islamabad.

Talking to the Daily Times on Wednesday, Mrs Paracha’s lawyer Nisar A. Mujahid said the letter that was received by the ICRC Kabul on Aug 11 and was dispatched to the wife of the missing businessman by Francois Auffret, a tracing delegate of the ICRC in Islamabad.

Mrs Paracha received the letter on Aug 30, he added. When contacted at her home by phone, Mrs Paracha confirmed that she had received the letter but asked this reporter to seek further details from her lawyer. Mr Mujahid said the letter had been written on the specific form of the ICRC and on the similar forms provided by the ICRC his family had given their reply to the letter. About the contents of the letter, Mr Mujahid said it simply contained information about the well-being of Mr Paracha. Mr Paracha had written that he was getting proper food and was being treated well, the lawyer said. However, Mr Mujahid claimed that Mr Paracha had been detained somewhere in Pakistan and the ICRC was being used to route his letter via Kabul just to show that the person was not inside the territory of Pakistan.

Answering a question, Mr Mujahid said he would produce the letter in the Sindh High Court which was due to hear the final arguments in the case of mysterious missing of Mr Paracha on Sept 9. His son Ozair Paracha is facing charges of assisting the entry of Al Qaeda operatives into the US before a New York court which last month rejected his bail application. Mr Paracha had cleared to board a Bangkok-bound flight of Thai Airways on July 5 by immigration authorities at the Karachi Airport, but his family claimed that he never reached Bangkok.

[piasa]

Followup:

Guantanamo Inmates Despair of Ever Leaving [Cry Me a River]