Gujarat ATS arrests Afghan man for illegal stay in India

The Gujarat Anti-TerroristSquad (ATS) has arrested a 55-year-old Afghan national forallegedly residing in India for the past 15 years using fakeidentification documents, including Indian passport and avoter ID card, officials said on Friday.

Based on a tip-off, the ATS arrested the man,Sardarkhan Pathan, from his residence in Mirzapur area ofAhmedabad city on Thursday, they said.

Pathan, who hails from Kabul in Afghanistan, has beenbooked under relevant sections of the Passports Act and theForeigners Act, the ATS said in a release on Friday.

The ATS found two Indian passports, a letter fromAfghan foreign affairs ministry, copy of an ID card issued byPakistan authorities, an Indian voter ID card, Aadhaar card,driving licence and a PAN card from his house, it said.

The preliminary investigation has revealed that Pathanhas been staying here for the last 15 years and was involvedinthe business of money lending, it added.

Pathan told the ATS that his father and uncle used tovisit India frequently to sell Afghani hing (asafoetida) andshilajit.

''Around 15 years back, Pathan came to Ahmedabad viaPakistan and Amritsar with his father and started living inPathan Basti in Dariyapur area of the city. He then acquiredIndian passport using bogus documents,'' the release said.

Meanwhile, his family members, who were still residingin Kabul, fled to Pakistan after the situation in their homecountry started worsening due to civil war.

According to the ATS, Pathan visited his family inPakistan using Indian passport and got married for the secondtime there.

When the situation started worsening in Pakistan also,his family went back to Afghanistan.

''Later, Pathan obtained a new Indian passport on thebasis of the old one and visited Afghanistan several times,''the ATS said.