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Afghans Free Son of Pakistani Al-Qaeda Suspect
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After their detention, the boy remained in Afghan custody while Siddiqui was flown to the United States. U.S. officials visited the boy in late August to check on his welfare and ascertain that he is a U.S. citizen, according to a State Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Afghan officials said Monday that the boy traveled under several names and referred to himself variously as Ali Hassan or Ahmed. Baheen, the Afghan spokesman, said Siddiqui adopted the boy in the southern Pakistani city of Multan after his mother, a medical doctor, and his father, an engineer, were killed in a devastating earthquake in northern Pakistan in 2005.
The boy was born in the United States 12 years ago when his parents were living there, so he is considered a dual Pakistani-American national, Baheen said. "It took us a while to sort out the legal issues because of all this, but finally we turned him over to the Pakistan Embassy," Baheen said.
Gideon Oliver, one of Siddiqui's attorneys, said that he and Elizabeth Fink, Siddiqui's lead attorney, were preparing to meet with their client "to tell her the good news."
The whereabouts of the two other children, who family members say disappeared with Siddiqui, are not known.
Staff writer Darryl Fears in Washington contributed to this report.
