ISLAMABAD: Italian authorities on Thursday deported a Pakistani national over his suspected links with religious extremists, security sources said.

The man— who hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mardan district — was escorted to Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) by Italian police.

The man was detained in Italy for being an alleged sympathiser of religious extremists.

After he was handed over to FIA, the suspect has been shifted to the agency's passport cell for investigation, sources added.

The man hails from Mardan's Dher village.

Correction: An earlier version of this story had incorrectly stated that the deported man was an APS attack suspect. The error is regretted.