New York: A Pakistani man, who received training to join Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist network in Kashmir, has been sentenced in the United States to 10 years and five months in prison.

Mohammad Aatique, 31, was first to be sentenced among a group of 11 people indicted in Pennsylvania and Virginia in July for training with assault rifles.

Aatique, an electrical engineer by profession, had entered into a plea bargain with the prosecution under which he pleaded guilty to going to Pakistan after September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to train with Lashkar.

Of the remaining suspects, three have pleaded guilty to weapons charges and the trial is set to being in February next year.

A US Federal Court in Pennsylvania yesterday (Dec 17, 2003) gave Aatique mandatory 10 years sentence for firearms violations, but only six months for conspiring to violate the US Neutrality Act.

He could have got five years on the conspiracy charge, but the judge decided on a lesser prison term as he was considered among people in lower in hierarchy of conspirators.

The Government had raised no objections to the period of Aatique's prison term, apparently satisfied with his cooperation during the probe of what prosecution called "the Virginia jihad network".

PTI