Friday, Feb 22, 2002
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ISLAMABAD, FEB. 21 Pakistan has reiterated that it wants India to come to the negotiating table to discuss contentious issues related to the extradition of fugitives from each other's countries. Contrary to a news report by a Pakistani news agency that the Pakistan Government has prepared a list of 48 persons wanted from India, the Pakistan Interior Minister, Moinuddin Haider, has said that Islamabad would want New Delhi to discuss such issues across the table. Within days after India had handed over a list of 20 wanted persons from Pakistan, Islamabad had announced that it was in the process of preparing its own list and would soon hand it over to India. However, Pakistan later changed its position and invited India for talks to discuss the subject. Mr. Haider said that Pakistan has no plan to conclude a treaty with India on exchanging people wanted by either side on criminal charges. ``There were no discussions with India on this subject,'' rejecting reports that Pakistan had already signed an extradition treaty with India. ``We have not given any list to India. We want issues to be resolved through negotiations,'' he said. On Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. in exchanging wanted persons, Mr. Haider said it was governed by a 1939-agreement between the U.S. and the erstwhile British-ruled colonial India. ``The U.S. has cooperated with us,'' he said pointing out the extradition by Washington of Pakistan's former navy chief, Mansrul Haq, who had been living in the U.S. but wanted by Pakistan on corruption charges. He said Afghanistan has also cooperated with Pakistan in handing over people. He rejected that Pakistan has allowed the U.S. intelligence agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Investigation Agency (CIA), to set up counters in Pakistan. He said a committee of journalists and members from the civil society could visit airports and government computer centres to verify if the two agencies had been given space to set up shop in Pakistan. ``When we needed we asked (FBI, CIA) for help,'' the former Military General said, referring to the case of U.S. journalist, Daniel Pearl, who has been missing and the FBI is collaborating with Pakistani authorities in tracking him down. Earlier, a local news agency report had claimed that Pakistan has prepared an extradition list of 48 people involved in terrorism and other crimes in the country. Quoting sources in the Pakistan Interior Ministry, it claimed that the list does not have the name of the Home Minister, L.K. Advani, as yet. It said it would be handed over to India sometime early next month. The report said the initial list of people that Pakistan wants India to extradite consists mainly of those belonging to the ethnic political groups, with 32 of them from the MQM, including its chief, Altaf Hussain, and Imran Farooq. Naming of Altaf Hussain is strange considering that he is living in exile in the U.K. for several years.
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