Eleven detained Pakistanis ‘not terrorists’ – GIS confirms after probe
The Eleven Pakistanis arrested at Techiman in Bono East Region are in the country legally and pose no threat, Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has said.
“They are not terrorists as is being circulated. They are not terrorists,” the GIS PRO, Superintendent Michael Amoako-Atta, said on Eyewitness News.
The police and GIS jointly made the arrest and were also on the hunt for one Amadu Seidu who is reported to have brought the suspects into Ghana.
The suspects were arrested on Sunday after police received a tip-off of their presence in the country.
The eleven suspects, all men, told the police after questioning that they were in the country to evangelize.
All the suspects were transferred to the Ghana Immigration Service Headquarters in Accra for investigations.
Further scrutiny eventually proved their innocence, Supt. Amoako-Atta noted.
“It was at the headquarters where their host brought in their passport and upon close examination, we found out that they procured visas from Ghana’s mission in Pakistan and duly arrived through an approved point of entry.”
Their visas are for a 60-day stay in Ghana, which have not expired.
Despite concerns of racial profiling in their detention, Supt. Amoako-Atta said the situation would not have escalated if the Pakistanis, who only spoke Arabic, had produced their passports.
“We have not inconvenienced them. We all know we’re living in a heightened state of alert in relation to this threat of terrorism,” he stated.
The focus of terror threats in Ghana comes amid the increased threat of terror attacks on churches in the sub-region.
The United Kingdom (UK), this past weekend, updated its travel advice for British nationals travelling to Ghana warning of likely terrorist attacks.
The Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery has assured that Ghana is on high alert for terrorist attacks.
“It is increasingly clear that the greatest threat we have in this sub-region is terrorism although it has not even hit Ghana yet. Terrorism is, therefore, top security concern of the President of the Republic of Ghana and indeed all of us,” he said.
Source: citinewsroom.com
