Saifullah Paracha, a Pakistani prisoner detained at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, arrived in Pakistan on Saturday following his release from the US military prison after more than 18 years, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.

The 75-year-old was the oldest prisoner at Guantanamo Bay and was held on suspicion of ties to Al Qaeda but never charged with a crime. His release was approved in May last year after more than 16 years in custody at the US base in Cuba.

“The foreign ministry completed an extensive inter-agency process to facilitate the repatriation of Paracha. “We are glad that a Pakistani citizen detained abroad is finally reunited with his family,” the FO statement said.

Separately, Foreign Minister Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari also tweeted about his release. Paracha, who lived in the US and owned property in New York City, was a wealthy businessman in Pakistan. The US captured Paracha in Thailand in 2003 and has held him at Guantanamo since September 2004.

Authorities alleged he was an Al Qaeda “facilitator” who helped two of the conspirators in the September 11 plot with a financial transaction. But Paracha, who suffers from a number of ailments including diabetes and a heart condition, has denied his involvement in terrorism, saying he did not know the men he was dealing with were Al-Qaeda members.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP