ISLAMABAD: Draft of an extradition treaty between Pakistan and the United Kingdom will be presented before the federal cabinet for final approval after more consultation with the United Kingdom.
This was decided in a meeting of the special ministerial committee chaired by Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed. The committee decided to sign the extradition pact with the UK in the best interest of Pakistan. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Human Rights Minister Dr. Shireen Mazari and Adviser on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar attended the meeting.
If Pakistan succeeds in signing this accord, it will join the club of over 100 countries that have such an agreement with the United Kingdom and both the countries can exchange convicted prisoners.
However, the agreement will only allow the repatriation of those citizens who have been sentenced by the courts of law.
Read more: PM Imran, Russian President discuss Afghanistan, bilateral ties
The first round of the discussion about the extradition treaty was held in October 2019.
Currently, no formal extradition treaty exists between Pakistan and the UK through Section 194 of the UK Extradition Act 2003 contains provisions for special “ad hoc” extradition arrangements.
In March 2020, the Foreign Ministry had written a letter to the United Kingdom seeking former prime minister Nawaz’s deportation as he was not admitted to any hospital despite staying in London for 105 days.
