Following claims by the lawyer acting for Khalid Rashid's family that he had been turned over to US intelligence agents or their allies, the Home Ministry said he was an "illegal foreigner in South Africa" and was "arrested and deported to his country of origin, Pakistan."

The government "can confirm that he was handed over to Pakistani officials who travelled to South Africa to receive him," it said.

Islamabad "has acknowledged in writing that he arrived in Pakistan on 6 November 2005... Therefore, further information about his whereabouts should be sought in Pakistan," the ministry said in a statement.

It was reported that Rashid, who went missing after being abducted by unknown men from a house in Estcourt town of KwaZulu-Natal province, may have been whisked away by British secret agents because he was suspected of being an Al Qaeda [Images] or Taliban activist.

Meanwhile, national broadcaster SABC reported that Rashid was flown out of Waterkloof Air Force Base in a white Gulfstream 11 jet and gave its registration number. The jet is reportedly owned by Phoenix International [Get Quote] based in Karzakstan, where the CIA is understood to have an interrogation centre for suspected terrorists.

According to the SABC, Rashid was flown to Mombasa in Kenya where he was dropped off.

Reacting to the report, Rashid's lawyer Zehir Omar claimed it was now clear that the Home Ministry had not been truthful when insisting that Rashid had been deported to Pakistan.

"I still maintain that Rashid was taken to a country near Afghanistan so that he could be forced to inform the Americans about the situation in Afghanistan", said Omar.

The lawyer said the new information given by the SABC would strengthen his case to force the Department to disclose the full information about the whereabouts of Rashid.

He said he would be making another application within 10 days for the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Intelligence to divulge full details about the whereabouts of Rashid.