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American Morning

Pakistani Man Says He Is Mistakenly Pictured In FBI Alert

Aired January 02, 2003 - 07:10   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The hunt is on. The FBI expanding the search for five men who are believed to have entered the U.S. on fake passports. Complicating this case, however, a Pakistani man who says his picture has been mistakenly mixed up with those of the men who are being sought for questioning.
Jeanne Meserve is in Washington with the latest details on this story.

Jeanne -- good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

The photograph identified as that of Mustafa Khan Owasi remains on the FBI Web site this morning, along with photographs of four other men the FBI believes may have entered the U.S. illegally.

But, an administration official says it is not inconceivable that the photograph of Owasi is not authentic, and the FBI plans to interview as soon as possible a jeweler in Lahore, Pakistan, who says the photograph is of him.

Compare the FBI photo with an Associated Press photo of the jeweler, Mohammed Asghar. The only discernible differences: a beard and longer hair. Asghar, a father of three, says he first saw the FBI photo in a Pakistani newspaper. "This is my photograph," he told CNN. "I am the same person." He even has the same birth date as the man identified by the FBI as Owasi.

The FBI has always said the names and dates of birth on the photographs could be fictitious, but if this photo or others turn out to be fraudulent, it at least complicates the search for the five.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID HARRIS, FORMER CANADIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: It introduces difficulties in the sense that there's a level of confusion that's thrown into everything. People who had some level of confidence in the photos out there and widely propagated will now be asking themselves twice whether people they see of interest may indeed be of interest. And that's not helpful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Asghar said he was in Pakistan on December 24, the day the man identified as Owasi is said to have entered the U.S. But he expressed to CNN fear about what U.S. authorities might do to him, and said he has been so heartbroken by the experience that he has contemplated suicide.

Meanwhile, the five men the FBI is seeking remain on the loose, presumably somewhere in the U.S. -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeanne Meserve in Washington -- Jeanne, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired January 2, 2003 - 07:10   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The hunt is on. The FBI expanding the search for five men who are believed to have entered the U.S. on fake passports. Complicating this case, however, a Pakistani man who says his picture has been mistakenly mixed up with those of the men who are being sought for questioning.
Jeanne Meserve is in Washington with the latest details on this story.

Jeanne -- good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

The photograph identified as that of Mustafa Khan Owasi remains on the FBI Web site this morning, along with photographs of four other men the FBI believes may have entered the U.S. illegally.

But, an administration official says it is not inconceivable that the photograph of Owasi is not authentic, and the FBI plans to interview as soon as possible a jeweler in Lahore, Pakistan, who says the photograph is of him.

Compare the FBI photo with an Associated Press photo of the jeweler, Mohammed Asghar. The only discernible differences: a beard and longer hair. Asghar, a father of three, says he first saw the FBI photo in a Pakistani newspaper. "This is my photograph," he told CNN. "I am the same person." He even has the same birth date as the man identified by the FBI as Owasi.

The FBI has always said the names and dates of birth on the photographs could be fictitious, but if this photo or others turn out to be fraudulent, it at least complicates the search for the five.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID HARRIS, FORMER CANADIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: It introduces difficulties in the sense that there's a level of confusion that's thrown into everything. People who had some level of confidence in the photos out there and widely propagated will now be asking themselves twice whether people they see of interest may indeed be of interest. And that's not helpful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Asghar said he was in Pakistan on December 24, the day the man identified as Owasi is said to have entered the U.S. But he expressed to CNN fear about what U.S. authorities might do to him, and said he has been so heartbroken by the experience that he has contemplated suicide.

Meanwhile, the five men the FBI is seeking remain on the loose, presumably somewhere in the U.S. -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeanne Meserve in Washington -- Jeanne, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.