Pak law allows fugitives to be handed over to India

New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) Pakistan, which is claiming it
has no legal arrangement with India for handing over terror
suspects following the Mumbai attacks, is forgetting one of
its own Acts which provides for transfer of such people to a
country with which it has not signed an extradition treaty.

The Extradition Act, 1972 of Pakistan clearly
specifies that Islamabad can hand over anyone accused of
terrorism or any other criminal act in a foreign country to
that government even if there is no Extradition Treaty.

The Act underlines that a suspect, sought for any
offence by a country with which Pakistan has no extradition
treaty, should be "surrendered" irrespective of whether a
court in Pakistan has jurisdiction to try that offence.

"Where the Federal government considers it expedient
that the persons who, being accused or convicted of offences
at places within, or within the jurisdiction of, a foreign
state, are or are suspected to be in Pakistan should be
returned to the State (country), notwithstanding that there is
no extradition treaty with that State," says Section 49(1) of
the Act.

The law, enacted on September 24, 1972, says that under
the Act the suspects can be handed over to a country with
which there is no extradition treaty exactly like it is done
in the case of a country with which Pakistan has such inked
such an accord.

The Act makes it clear that "every fugitive offender
shall be liable to be apprehended and surrendered in the
manner provided in this Act, whether the offence in respect of
which his surrender is sought was committed before or after
the commencement of this Act and whether or not a court in
Pakistan has jurisdiction to try that offence."

India has been pressing Pakistan to hand over about 40
fugitives of Indian law, including Jaish-e-Mohammad chief
Masood Azhar and Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed, who are
wanted in serious crimes of terrorism here.

Pakistan, however, has been claiming that since it has
no extradition treaty with India, it would not be able to hand
over any of the Pakistani nationals.

Commenting on the Extradition Act of Pakistan, official
sources here wondered why Islamabad is claiming it cannot hand
over anybody if such a law exists in that country.

"This raises questions over Pakistan's sincerity," the
sources said, adding the world should take note of it.

The Act says that a requisition for the "surrender of a
fugitive offender" shall be made to Federal government of
Pakistan by a diplomatic representative in Pakistan of a
country asking for the surrender, or by the government of a
country asking for the surrender through the diplomatic
representative of Pakistan in that country.

The requisition can also be made in any other manner
"as may have been settled by arrangement between the Federal
government (of Pakistan) and the government of the State
asking for the surrender," the Pakistani Act says.

The sources pointed out that India has already made
requisitions to Pakistan government in the format prescribed
in that country's law but still it is not acting. "This, in
fact, amounts to violation by the Pakistan government of its
own law," they said.

The law also makes it clear that a fugitive may be
extradited even if an offence has been committed on board any
vessel on the high seas or any aircraft in the air outside
Pakistan or the Pakistan territorial waters and such vessel or
aircraft comes into any port or aerodrome of Pakistan with the
fugitive offender on board. PTI