Image of passport recovered from the arrested US citizen. – Photo by Zahir Shah Sherazi/Dawn.com

PESHAWAR: A Pakistani court, on Thursday, convicted an American national of Afghan origin and ordered his deportation from the country, a day after he was arrested for illegal stay.

Judicial Magistrate Shaukat Ahmed Khan convicted Ashraf Mohamamd Yaseen, who was arrested on May 23, from the Cantonment area of Peshawar for not possessing valid entry documents to Pakistan and sentenced him to a three-day imprisonment and a 800-rupee fine.

The court also ordered deportation of the US national, under Section-14 Foreign Act, after completion of his three-day jail term in judicial lock up and payment of the fine.

Ashraf, hailing from Afghanistan, had been issued a US Passport by the Charleston Passport Center on February 27, 2004 and his passport’s validity was until February 26, 2014.

As per an order from the Ministry of Interior, all foreign nationals must obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in order to enter the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa provinces and must have a valid visa documents for the areas they are visiting.

A number of US nationals had been held and returned from Peshawar’s motorway and airport and sent back to Islamabad for failing to present an NOC or valid entry documents.

Official sources said that the presence of the US national near the sensitive military offices was the main concern for which the man was investigated and arrested, after he failed to satisfy the authorities.

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