After the United States invasion of Afghanistan in the fall of 2001, Deghayes moved temporarily to Pakistan for what he thought would be safety with his Afghan wife and child. He has said that he was arrested, along with his family, by bounty hunters in Pakistan.[3] He was "sold" to the American forces and taken into military custody. He was first held and interrogated at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility.[3] His wife and child were later released.[10]