Talking to reporters here, Amina, daughter of the arrested cleric Hafiz Mohammad Sher Ali and sister of Farmanul Haq and Izharul Haq, who were arrested in Florida by US officials for alleged links with the Taliban, said none of her family members had any contacts with the Taliban. She added that all the charges leveled against her father and brothers were baseless and her father or sibling sent money home only to help meet the needs of the family. Amina said her father had been settled in the US for the last 18 to 20 years and there was not a single case against him.

The grandson of Sher Ali, Alamzeb who is a college student, said his grandfather would send money to his family members through legal means. He added US officials had accused Sher Ali of sending home $45,000 without realising that his grandfather had sent this amount for his son-in-law Inayatullah to help establish his business in Swat.

Sher Ali said the family had established a seminary in the Sersanai village in Swat district where the area’s children were learning the Holy Quran. He said the seminary was registered with the government and security forces deployed in Swat also knew it had nothing to do with the Taliban. “How was I indicted when I did not even visit the US,” said Alamzeb, a nephew of Sher Ali.

Hafiz Sher Ali belonged to Kabal tehsil of Swat district. His two sons Irfanul Haq and Izharul Haq have also been arrested in US. Polices sources said his two other sons Ikramul Haq and Azizul Haq are still in Pakistan. Ikramul Haq is a schoolteacher and a commander of the Taliban in Swat. He is wanted by the police in connection with the attack on the forces convoy in 2008 in which eight soldiers were killed. Sources say Ikramul Haq had provided support to the attackers. Though he was sacked from the job, he has gone into hiding and has not been arrested so far. Local residents said Hafiz Sher Ali had been living in US for the last 20 years and was a peace-loving person.