Body of Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal returned to Richardson mosque amid questions about his death in ICE custody
Tuesday, the body of Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal was returned to his mosque, where his community prayed over it.
The sounds of prayer and grief washed over the mosque in Richardson.
Naseer Paktiawal looked at the face of his brother, Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, maybe for the last time. His body will be sent back to Afghanistan.
While this community is united in prayer, they're also united in the quest for the truth.
"We have thousands of questions and no answers yet," said Asad Noorzay, a community member and friend of the family.
Among the most painful questions: how did Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal die one day after Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him into custody?
And why was he picked up in the first place?
They are questions that North Texas Congresswoman Julie Johnson asked when she visited the ICE facility on Monday.
"Well, according to the agents at the facility today, they said that he… his legal status had expired, that he had not renewed the process to stay here with his permit intact," said Johnson.
CBS News Texas spoke with Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal's immigration attorney, who wouldn't speak on camera, but confirmed that he still had an asylum case pending when he was detained by ICE, and as the attorney of record, if that case had been terminated, they would have been informed.
In two statements released since his death, ICE and DHS have called Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal a "criminal illegal alien."
Johnson also confirmed that ICE agents told her Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal had missed appointments related to his asylum case – another claim his attorney disputes.
"He was not illegal. He supported, directly, our Special Forces military operations in Afghanistan. He worked shoulder to shoulder with the U.S.," said Noorzay.
Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal's family is left searching for answers while still grappling with his loss.
"Of course, I miss him. Every moment, every second, I have his voice in my ear calling my name to watch out for my kids, I'm gone, forever," Naseer Paktiawal told CBS News Texas on Sunday evening.
Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal's death is still under investigation by ICE. The agency says he passed away at Parkland Hospital after complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath. No official cause of death has been released.
