Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Pakistani Claims His Picture Mistakenly Included in FBI Search
Aired January 02, 2003 - 14:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It sure looks like him. That's what a senior FBI official says after seeing a picture of a Pakistani jeweler side-by-side with one of those on an FBI alert.
The FBI released these photographs saying five men may have entered the U.S. illegally last week, perhaps smuggled across the Canadian border. But at least one could be a case of mistaken identity.
A Pakistani father of three says the face on the wanted poster is his, but he's not their man.
FBI agents are on their way to Eastern Pakistan right now to interview that man.
CNN's Islamabad bureau chief Ash-har Quraishi talked to him earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thirty-three-year-old Mohammed Asghar, a jeweler from Lahore and father of three, said he was surprised earlier this week when he opened up a local newspaper only to find his picture plastered next to four other men who the FBI are looking for for questioning.
Now, according to the FBI, these five men are believed to have entered the United States illegally around December 24.
Asghar says that it is his picture, but the name does not match. And he says he's never been to the United States, nor has he ever tried to travel to the United States.
Asghar says he has no ties to terrorism and does not recognize any of the other four men. And he says that he has no idea about how his picture got into the hands of the FBI.
MOHAMMED ASGHAR, PAKISTANI JEWELER: (voice of translator) I'm here and they are saying that I'm in the USA. How can this be true? I don't know anything about the picture. Maybe someone gave it to them or someone had the picture on a web site. What can I say about this? I'm here in Lahore, a resident in Pakistan. How can I be there when I'm here in Lahore?
QURAISHI: The FBI says that they would like to question Asghar to clarify the situation.
And he says that he's never been to the United States but that in November, he tried to travel to the U.K. on a passport that was forged. He says that he had used the forged document to try and get a job in the U.K. And said that while he's afraid about what might happen in the questioning with the FBI, he would like to clarify his fate and his name.
Ash-har Quraishi, CNN, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Search>
Aired January 2, 2003 - 14:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It sure looks like him. That's what a senior FBI official says after seeing a picture of a Pakistani jeweler side-by-side with one of those on an FBI alert.
The FBI released these photographs saying five men may have entered the U.S. illegally last week, perhaps smuggled across the Canadian border. But at least one could be a case of mistaken identity.
A Pakistani father of three says the face on the wanted poster is his, but he's not their man.
FBI agents are on their way to Eastern Pakistan right now to interview that man.
CNN's Islamabad bureau chief Ash-har Quraishi talked to him earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thirty-three-year-old Mohammed Asghar, a jeweler from Lahore and father of three, said he was surprised earlier this week when he opened up a local newspaper only to find his picture plastered next to four other men who the FBI are looking for for questioning.
Now, according to the FBI, these five men are believed to have entered the United States illegally around December 24.
Asghar says that it is his picture, but the name does not match. And he says he's never been to the United States, nor has he ever tried to travel to the United States.
Asghar says he has no ties to terrorism and does not recognize any of the other four men. And he says that he has no idea about how his picture got into the hands of the FBI.
MOHAMMED ASGHAR, PAKISTANI JEWELER: (voice of translator) I'm here and they are saying that I'm in the USA. How can this be true? I don't know anything about the picture. Maybe someone gave it to them or someone had the picture on a web site. What can I say about this? I'm here in Lahore, a resident in Pakistan. How can I be there when I'm here in Lahore?
QURAISHI: The FBI says that they would like to question Asghar to clarify the situation.
And he says that he's never been to the United States but that in November, he tried to travel to the U.K. on a passport that was forged. He says that he had used the forged document to try and get a job in the U.K. And said that while he's afraid about what might happen in the questioning with the FBI, he would like to clarify his fate and his name.
Ash-har Quraishi, CNN, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Search>
