Pak national in US charged with parental kidnapping

Chicago: A Pakistani national in the US has been arrested and charged with international kidnapping for travelling overseas with his three children without their mother's consent.

Murtaza Ali, 44, who was arrested on May 6 on his return from overseas at the O' Hare Airport in Chicago was indicted in a Chicago court yesterday for international kidnapping and faces a sentence of three years and a fine of USD 25,000.

According to court documents, his wife complained to the police that on May 2 that she was at a social gathering and Ali, along with the three children, was scheduled to pick her up after the event but did not do so.

When she arrived home, Ali and the three children were not there and their passports and luggage were missing.

Police said Ali, along with the three children, boarded a Turkish Airlines flight from Chicago and arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 2.

According to his wife, Ali called her from Turkey and stated that he had the three children and that he was traveling to Pakistan.

According to information obtained from Turkish Airlines and other law enforcement agents, there was reason to believe that Ali was planning to board a flight from Turkey bound for Karachi, with the children, federal prosecutors said.

He was arrested on a federal complaint when he and his three children returned to the United States on May 6.