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A Pakistani-American man has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of providing material support to terrorists involved in the 2009 suicide attack at the Inter-Services Intelligence headquarters in Lahore that killed 30 people and wounded more than 300 others.
Reaz Qadir Khan, 48, was arrested by the FBI at his residence in Portland, Oregon. He made initial appearance on Wednesday before Magistrate Paul Papak in federal court in Portland. His detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
"The events of May 27, 2009 remind us that terrorism is not defined by Muslims targeting non-Muslims, but is defined by violent extremists targeting anyone they perceive as a threat to their oppressive agenda without regard for the religion, race or nationality of their victims," US Attorney Amanda Marshall said.
According to the indictment unsealed on Wednesday, Khan conspired with a Maldivian national Ali Jaleel and others to provide material support and resources for the terror attack.
Jaleel died in the suicide attack on the ISI headquarters in Lahore on May 27, 2009 that left 30 people dead. As part of the conspiracy, Khan allegedly used email and intermediaries to provide advice and financial assistance to Jaleel and his family.
Khan provided Jaleel with advice to help him in his efforts to travel undetected from the Maldives to commit violent jihad and used coded language when communicating with Jaleel to avoid detection.
Further, Khan allegedly provided financial assistance so Jaleel could attend a training camp to prepare for an attack such as that carried out in Lahore.
Khan also allegedly provided financial support and advice to Jaleel's family while Jaleel traveled to Pakistan and after he died, the department of justice said. In April 2006, Jaleel and a small group from the Maldives attempted to travel to Pakistan to train for violent jihad in Iraq or Afghanistan, but they were detained and returned to the Maldives, where Jaleel was placed under house arrest, according to the indictment.
In 2008, Jaleel allegedly emailed Khan about his plans to travel to Pakistan again, and in response, Khan provided advice to Jaleel on how to avoid detection and offered to arrange for money to be sent to Jaleel.
In October 2008, Jaleel allegedly told Khan he needed ‘$2,500 for everything’ and asked that Khan take care of his family and educate his children. Khan promised to help Jaleel's family.
Khan later instructed Jaleel to pick up the money he needed to enter the training camp from an individual in Karachi. To arrange for this transfer, Khan contacted an individual in Los Angeles who he knew could quickly arrange for Jaleel to pick up money in Pakistan.
According to indictment, the individual in Los Angeles then arranged for the money to be available for pick-up from the individual in Karachi.