dpa
Islamabad
A Pakistani citizen known as the oldest detainee at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba was reunited with his family after more than 18 years, Pakistan’s foreign office said on Saturday.
“We are glad that a citizen detained abroad is reunited with his family,” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Twitter.
“The Foreign Ministry completed an extensive inter-agency process to facilitate repatriation of Paracha,” the office said in a statement.
His release was approved in May last year after more than 16 years in custody.
Saifullah Paracha was arrested in Thailand in 2003 on suspicions of being an al-Qaeda sympathizer but was never charged with the crime during his detention.
The 75-year-old who lived in the US was a wealthy businessman in Pakistan. He was accused of facilitating the 9/11 terrorist attack with a financial transaction but he denied charges and any involvement in terrorism. In November last year, a senator for the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party highlighted the issue that Paracha was cleared from the prison review board and demanded government action to bring him back.
Paracha’s son was also arrested on similar charges and sentenced to jail for 30 years. He returned home last year after the conviction was overturned.
The Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba has been in operation for more than 20 years.
