US citizen Mathew Barret remanded for 14 days in judicial custody

RAWALPINDI: A local court remanded US citizen Mathew Barret for 14 days in judicial custody on Friday.

During the proceedings today, the investigation officer told the court that the official at the consulate who gave Barret a Pakistan visa should be interrogated.

The defense alleged that the Federal Investigation Agency had been bribed and was unable to produce any witnesses.

The FIA on Saturday arrested an American citizen, who was blacklisted over espionage of nuclear installations in Pakistan, upon his entry to Islamabad.

Mathew Craig Barret, a US citizen, was blacklisted and deported from Pakistan in 2011 on his objectionable activities. The US citizen was later arrested from a guesthouse from the capital city the same day upon his entry into Islamabad.

In a statement to the court Barret stated that he had arrived in Pakistan on visa issued by Pakistani Consulate in Houston.

About his previous visit, Mathew said he had arrived in Pakistan to visit his in-laws. He denied the charges of being a spy, saying he was not involved in such activities.