Pakistani man, seized during terrorism raid in Watertown, ordered deported

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff, Globe Staff

One of three Pakistani men arrested in New England earlier this month as part of the investigation into the attempted bombing in New York's Times Square has been ordered deported to Pakistan by a federal immigration judge.

But it was not clear what the order issued late Thursday by Immigration Judge Robin E. Feder of Boston meant for Aftab Ali Khan, 27, who was working as a gas station attendant in Brookline when he was arrested on May 13 for alleged immigration violations.

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington could not immediately say whether Khan was no longer being investigated in connection with the bombing attempt or whether he would still be held while authorities question him.

Khan, who has lived in the United States for about eight months and was rooming with other Pakistani men in a Watertown apartment, is being held at the Suffolk County House of Correction.

Khan's lawyer, Saher J. Macarius, of Framingham, had asked Feder to let his client voluntarily leave the country, while federal authorities asked her to keep Khan in the United States. Macarius could not be reached for comment, and the Department of Homeland Security had no immediate comment.