Pakistani student convicted on gun charges

HOUSTON – A Pakistani student was convicted Thursday of federal firearms charges connected to paramilitary training that prosecutors said prepared Muslim men to fight U.S. troops overseas.

Syed Maaz Shah, a 20-year-old former engineering student at the University of Texas at Dallas, was accused of illegally firing an assault rifle during two camping trips last year.

Under federal law, a nonimmigrant with a student visa, such as Shah, can’t have firearms or ammunition.

Authorities said the trips were organized by men who wanted to engage in holy war against U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries.

Shah’s attorney, Frank Jackson, told jurors during closing arguments that his client was entrapped when an undercover officer infiltrated the group.

After the verdict, Jackson said he felt his client was hurt by anti-Muslim sentiment in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“This so-called war on terror is as phony as can be,” Jackson said.

He said he expects his client to be deported after serving his sentence.

Prosecutor Shelley Hicks said Shah knew what was going on at the campsite and was “preparing to go overseas because somehow our troops were waging war corruptly against Muslims.”

The undercover officer, Malik Mohamed, testified that Shah had expressed interest in taking part in a jihad. Officials also said the FBI found extremist literature on Shah’s computer.

Shah was convicted of being an alien in possession of a firearm affecting interstate commerce. He faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing Sept. 14.

Two other firearms charges were dropped before closing arguments Thursday because of jurisdictional issues.

Last week, Shiraz Syed Qazi, 26, one of three other men arrested in the case, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for firing weapons during the camping trips near Willis, north of Houston.

Two other men, Adnan Babar Mirza and Kobie Diallo Williams, were charged with conspiracy to join the Taliban and fight U.S. forces.

Mirza, a 29-year-old Pakistani who overstayed a student visa, also is charged with violating federal firearms laws. Mirza, who is Qazi’s cousin, is set for trial in October.

Williams, 33, a U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and will be sentenced in October.