The Peninsula : Pakistani seeks apology from Britain for son’s arrest

Pakistani seeks apology from Britain for son’s arrest

April 20, 2009

PESHAWAR: Like other families of Pakistani students held on terror charges in Britain, family members of Janas Khan, who is under detention and may face deportation, are worried about his safety.

Ahmad Jan, father of Janas Khan, yesterday said his family had no links with militants whatsoever, lamenting the attitude of Pakistani and British officials who had not contacted him to date.

Demanding his son’s immediate release, he asked the UK to tender an apology for implicating his “innocent” son in a false case.

A cloth merchant by profession and a diabetic, Jan said he was shocked to see the images of his son on television with reports of his arrest. “For God’s sake, we have no links with those people. We are respected people and deal in cloth business,” he said, adding before going to the UK, his son was employed with a pharmaceutical company here.

The worried father said his son did his SSC from Edwardes High School, FSc and graduation from Superior Science College, Peshawar and both are reputed institutions. After completing his graduation Janas Khan got a job at a medicine company Before going to UK in March 2007, he was working with a multinational pharmaceutical.

Ahmad Jan said during his stay in UK, Janas Khan would regularly contact his family to inquire about the health of his parents, especially his mother who is a heart patient and has undergone a bypass surgery.

Jan said that he talked to his son in the first week of this month, which turned out to be the last conversation until now. “His mother is still unaware of the detention of Janas Khan as we do not want her to have this information given her poor health,” Jan added.

Expressing disappointment over the ‘irresponsible’ attitude of both the UK and Pakistani officials, he said none of the two governments had informed him about his arrest even after the lapse of nine days.