A Pakistan court ruled Monday that five Virginia men arrested in that country cannot be deported until a judge reviews the case, potentially complicating the handover of the men to U.S. authorities, legal and political experts said.
The high court in Lahore, where the Americans are being held, gave the Pakistan government until Thursday to submit a detailed report about the case, and it barred the FBI from participating in the probe. The court ruled on a petition from a Pakistan human-rights activist known for filing legal briefs on behalf of terrorism suspects.
Pakistan officials played down the ruling’s significance, saying that they were continuing to coordinate with U.S. officials and that the Americans eventually would be returned to the United States to face possible criminal charges.
The five men, all Muslims from the Alexandria area, were arrested on Dec. 8 near Lahore and are being investigated for possible terrorist ties. No one has been charged.
Experts said the ruling reflects many Pakistanis’ sensitivities to the growing U.S. troop presence in the region and the assertiveness of the country’s increasingly independent judiciary.
The men, ages 18 to 24, traveled overseas just after Thanksgiving without telling their families, triggering an international missing-persons case. They were transferred Saturday from Sargodha to Lahore, where they were being questioned by the FBI. Pakistani officials have said they also want more time to interrogate the men about possible radical ties in Pakistan.
Pakistan police and intelligence officials have said the men were in contact for months with a Taliban recruiter and were trying to join up with al-Qaeda. U.S. law-enforcement officials are considering criminal charges against the men but have said nothing is imminent.
