Precedent does exist where Pakistan extradited culprits wanted by UK

LAHORE: Now that the Pakistani and British authorities have signed a pact to pave way for the extradition of country’s former finance minister Ishaq Dar, there exists at least one precedent where Islamabad had also responded positively to London’s call by handing over the killers of a white Scottish teenager in 2005 during Gen Pervez Musharraf’s time.Research conducted by the “Jang Group and Geo Television Network” reveals that a former British legislator and siting Punjab Governor, Ch Muhammad Sarwar, had used his connections in Pakistan to secure the extradition of the killers of 15-year-old Kriss Donald, who was murdered in Glasgow in March 2004.

This was the first ever conviction for racially motivated murder in Scotland. Donald’s murderers (Daanish Zahid, Imran Shahid, Zeeshan Shahid, Faisal Mushtaq and Zahid Muhammad) had fled to Pakistan, but despite the absence of an extradition treaty, Ch Sarwar had lobbied to convince the-then Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to have the culprits sent back to the UK to stand trial.

Donald was abducted and stabbed 13 times, before being doused in petrol and set on fire. (References: The July 19, 2013 report of a Scottish regional news service “STV News,” The Scotsman of Edinburgh, the November 10, 2006 edition of The Hindu, the London Evening Standard, the Guardian and November 8, 2006 report of the BBC News).

Three of the five suspects were arrested in Pakistan in July 2005 and extradited to the UK, despite the fact that there were numerous diplomatic complications, including the apparent divergences between government activities and those of ambassadorial officials.

The three extradited suspects, Imran Shahid, Zeeshan Shahid and Faisal Mushtaq, all in their late twenties, had arrived in Scotland on October 5, 2005.

They were charged with Donald’s murder the following day. Their trial had opened on October 2, 2006 in Scotland and on November 8, 2006, the three men were found guilty of the racially motivated murder of Kriss Donald.

All three had denied the charge; however, a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh had convicted them of abduction and murder.

Each of the killers had received sentences of life imprisonment, with Imran Shahid given a 25-year minimum term, Zeeshan Shahid a 23-year minimum and Mushtaq receiving a minimum of 22 years. Danish Zahid was given a life imprisonment of 17 years and Muhammad Zahid was convicted of racially motivated violence and jailed for five years.

Although Pakistan is yet to ink an Extradition Treaty with the United Kingdom, research further shows that even if Britain has not signed any such accord with any country, Section 194 of the UK Extradition Act 2003 does allow and contains provisions for special “ad hoc” extradition arrangements. It, however, goes without saying that the United Kingdom has probably never made these special “ad hoc” extradition arrangements to hand over any accused to the Pakistani authorities till date.

In 1995, the then Premier Benazir Bhutto had also demanded the British authorities hand over Altaf Hussain to Pakistan, but in vain. The July 29, 2013 edition of “The Guardian” had carried a story that had stated: “The UK itself has questions to answer. It has resisted repeated Pakistani requests to hand over Hussain so that he can stand trial for murder in Pakistan. Altaf Hussain arrived in London in February 1992 and just three years later, Benazir Bhutto – the-then Prime Minister – was asking for London’s help. “I think the British government has a moral responsibility to restrain Altaf Hussain and say you cannot use our soil for violence,” she said. Eighteen years later, Imran Khan’s appeal was strikingly similar: “I blame the British government. Would they allow someone to sit in Pakistan and threaten people in the UK? They know about his track record.”

The prestigious British media house had added: “Pakistanis point to other instances where they believe the UK has favoured Altaf Hussain. In 2002 he was issued with a UK passport.” Extradition treaties inked by Britain with other countries:

According to the BBC News, the United Kingdom has signed extradition treaties with over 100 countries including Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cook Islands, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong SAR, Haiti, Iceland, India, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Macedonia FYR, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Russian Federation, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.