26 July 2010, 12:00 p.m.

Arrested Pakistanis fined and deported 

The two Pakistani men who were arrested in Zimbabwe as they tried to enter South Africa during the World Cup were fined $200 (about R1 700) each for being in possession of forged travel documents.

According to Zimbabwean state media Imran Muhammad, 33, and compatriot Warraich Chaudhry Pervez Ahmed, 39, were charged with breaching the Immigration Act and will remain in custody pending their deportation to Pakistan.

 

The two were initially linked in press reports to the 2008 Mumbai attacks and other reports said that Muhammed appeared on an Interpol list of international terror suspects.

 

The mystery of why they were trying to enter South Africa, during a time of heightened security due to the 2010 Fifa World Cup by using fake passports, however remains.

 

Some reports linked them to human trafficking while others linked the incidents to the ongoing threat of terrorism during the mega-event.