RAWALPINDI: Pakistan has extradited a man wanted by a British law enforcement agency in a double murder case at the request of the British government on Wednesday, a prison department official said.

Mohammad Zubair, a native of Attock district, was wanted by the West Yorkshire police for his alleged involvement in the murder of Imran Khan, 27, and Ahmed Deen Syed, 35, in 2011.

After the suspect fled to Pakistan, he was arrested and imprisoned in November 2013. The British authorities had asked the Pakistani authorities to extradite the man.

When he was imprisoned, an additional deputy commissioner general (ADCG) was appointed inquiry magistrate, in order to determine whether “fugitive offenders” could be extradited.

In his inquiry, the ADCG recommended that the suspect be surrendered to the British government, and the interior ministry had no objection to his extradition. The ministry then issued warrants for the custody of the suspect on April 26, 2016.

Zubair’s custody was then handed over from Adiala Jail to the British authorities for extradition; five years after British law enforcement first asked the Pakistani government.

A senior official said Zubair’s extradition was the first time in the last decade that an individual had been extradited from Pakistan to the United Kingdom.

Warrants for Zubair’s custody were issued under section 11 of the Extradition Act 1972 and served on the accused in the Adiala Central Jail so he could face trial in the UK on the charges of double murder.

After his 15 day remand was completed since the warrants were issued, he was handed over to the British authorities at Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2016