Pakistani Gets 10 Months for Firing Guns With Men Accused of Taliban Links

HOUSTON — A Pakistani student was sentenced yesterday to 10 months in prison for firing weapons during a camping trip with men who have been charged with conspiracy to join the Taliban and fight the U.S.

Shirz Syed Qazi, 26, was convicted in January of possession of a firearm by an alien during what prosecutors called a paramilitary training exercise being conducted by the four Muslim men. Informants photographed them firing the guns during the 2005 trip outside Houston.

Qazi, who will get credit for the nearly six months already served in jail, will probably be deported after his sentence, U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal said. The judge sentenced Qazi to the low end of the sentencing guidelines, which ranged from 10 to 15 months.

"This defendant was [shooting] weapons with people who were intent on engaging in jihad against the United States," said federal prosecutor Shelley Hicks.

During his sentencing hearing, Qazi, who was a student at Houston Community College, said he always strived to obey the law and had never been in trouble.

"We are all against [jihad]," Izzat Qazi, his older brother, said after the sentencing.