Pakistanis’ deportation delayed
Officials seeking ‘clarification’
TORONTO — The Canadian government’s attempt to deport two Pakistani citizens arrested in Toronto for terrorism is lagging, and the lawyer for one of them said Tuesday that Pakistan was refusing to take his client back.
Jahanzeb Malik and Mohammed Aqeeq Ansari were to be deported more than a month ago but their departure was put on hold at Pakistan’s request. Canadian diplomats have since met with Pakistani officials over the issue but without result.
“He is in limbo,” said Malik’s lawyer, Anser Farooq. Malik was arrested in March for allegedly plotting a suicide bombing in downtown Toronto. “Canada wants him out. Pakistan won’t take him.”
The RCMP identified Ansari as a member of the terrorist group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan. The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) ordered his deportation on the grounds he was a danger to Canada’s security.
Although both men are citizens of Pakistan, they remain at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont. Ansari has been held there since October. Pakistani authorities have declined to explain what is holding up the deportations.
“It would be not appropriate to disclose at this moment,” said Asghar Ali Golo, the Consul General of Pakistan in Toronto. In an interview, he said there was “no doubt” about the men’s’ citizenship but that Pakistan was seeking “clarification” over “certain issues.”
“Once those clarifications are received in Islamabad from the Canadian High Commission then I think we will get some permission to send them back to Pakistan,” he said. “There is some kind of negotiation going on between us and Canadian government on how can we deport them so we have a number of meetings.”
The consul-general said he met with both detainees on Monday. “I basically wanted to understand the main issues,” he said. Pakistan understood the seriousness of the issue and wanted it resolved as soon as possible, he added. “Both governments are working for an amicable solution to this situation.”
The lawyer said Pakistan will not sign off on Malik’s deportation because of the terrorism allegations levelled against him. According to the Canada Border Services Agency, Malik told an undercover RCMP officer he had trained with al-Qaida in Libya.
During the investigation, Malik also acknowledged he was a supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and wanted to bomb the Toronto financial district. Among the targets he discussed was the United States consulate.
Detention hearings were scheduled Wednesday for both Malik and Ansari. The IRB has banned the press from observing Malik’s proceedings after he asked to exclude reporters. The National Post challenged the secrecy ruling but the IRB refused to open the hearings to scrutiny.