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Justify extradition request: Pak.
By B. Muralidhar Reddy
ISLAMABAD, JAN. 2. Pakistan has said it is prepared to consider extradition of the 20 ``fugitives from law'' accused to have committed crimes in India and now reportedly taken shelter here if New Delhi gives credible evidence and takes recourse under the SAARC anti-terrorism Convention. In a statement, the Pakistan Foreign Office said ``if credible evidence to support the Indian Government's charges is provided to the Government of Pakistan, and in case any of the persons against whom evidence is provided are found to be residing in Pakistan, appropriate action under Pakistan's laws will be taken''.
The carefully worded statement is at variance with the utterances of the Foreign Office spokesman, Mr. Aziz Ahmed Khan, and the Press Secretary to the President, Maj. Gen. Rashid Quereshi, at a news conference on Tuesday, when they said India had not provided a shred of evidence in support of its demand for extradition of the 20 persons and it was not possible even to consider action against them in the absence of proof.
The statement said the Pakistan High Commission was on Monday handed over a list of 20 ``fugitives from law'' allegedly residing in Pakistan, with the request they may be apprehended and handed over to India. ``The Indian Government, however, did not furnish any supporting evidence'', it said. Invocation of the SAARC anti-terrorism convention by Islamabad adds a new dimension to Pakistan's approach to the list provided by India. The Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, talked of the SAARC Convention in a chat with a group of Pakistan correspondents in Kathmandu on Tuesday night.
``We can consider the extradition of these persons, only after India meets all the legal conditions.'' To meet the legal requirements for extradition, India would have to make a case against each listed person in its own courts, provide evidence that would help indict these persons and ask for extradition under the SAARC Convention.
Mr. Sattar, who is attending the SAARC Foreign Ministers Conference beginning today, said the extradition issue should be seen as a legal and not a political one.
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