McCaul tries to free US teens from Pak madrassa

Fox News:

Two American teenage boys studying for the past four years at a radical madrassa in Karachi, Pakistan, have been unable to leave, a situation that led three Texas lawmakers to meet with Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf to discuss their return, FOX News has learned.

But Musharraf promised Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, and Democratic Reps. Gene Green and Henry Cuellar that the boys will be released soon and sent home.

The three congressmen flew to Pakistan last week to discuss military affairs with Pakistani officials. On their way to meet with Musharraf, McCaul told the others about the American boys who were studying at a madrassa, or Islamic religious school, called the Jamia Binoria Institute. Green and Cuellar were unaware of the teens' plight.

The boys, identified as Noor Elahi Khan, 17, and Mahboob Elahi Khan, 16, are from the Atlanta area; their parents are both Pakistani.

Noor and Mahboob lived in the U.S. until being sent to Karachi several years ago by their father. Their parents have been fighting over where the boys should be: Their mother wants them back in the United States, while their father wants them to stay in Pakistan.

"These American boys should be released immediately," said McCaul in a statement. "Pakistan has a policy to exclude foreigners from these madrassas, including Americans. However, the policy has failed so far."

In their July 4 meeting with Musharraf, the Pakistani president assured McCaul that the teens would be let go, as did the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, saying they could be sent home as early as this week.

Musharraf told the congressional delegation that he has been trying to close this particular madrassa, according to Green.

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The story does not say why it might take several days to release the boys from the madrassa. While McCaul is the congressman from my district in Texas, the boys are from Georgia. Shari'a law also shows its ugly head in the dispute because it favors the wishes of the father. The US does not recognize it, thankfully, but Pakistan might have some who would want to impose it on the boys. For Democrats, Cuellar and Green are not as bad as most. They still make the unforgivable mistake of voting for Pelosi.