American released from Pak jail after Rs 20 lakh guarantee

PESHAWAR: Suspected US security contractor Aaron Mark DeHaven, arrested last month for outstaying his Pakistani visa, was today released from a prison in this northwestern city after he deposited Rs 20 lakh as a guarantee.

A comprehensive security blanket was put in place around the Central Prison in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, at the time of DeHaven's release.

A court had yesterday granted bail to DeHaven and issued an order that he should be released if he provided a surety bond and was not wanted in any other case.

The court also warned DeHaven not to leave Peshawar without informing the police.

DeHaven deposited Rs 20 lakh as a guarantee in the account of the District and Sessions Court, officials said.

Police arrested the American last month from a residential area in Peshawar on charges of outstaying his Pakistani visa, which had expired in October last year.

Reports said he was running Catalyst Services, a firm providing security and accommodation to foreigners in northwest Pakistan.

He was the second American to be arrested in the recent past.

Relations between Pakistan and the US were strained in January following the arrest of suspected CIA contractor Raymond Davis, who was charged with murder for shooting and killing two armed men in Lahore.