RAWALPINDI, May 20: The text of an extradition treaty involving Pakistan, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, has been finalized, a source told Dawn. The UK-Pakistan Joint Judicial Cooperation Working Group (JJCWG) was formed in 2003 against the backdrop of Sept 11 terror attacks in the US with a view to fighting terrorism through joint efforts.

The first meeting of the working group was held in April 2003, and the fifth meeting was held in London in April 2005, during which the text of the treaty was reviewed.

Besides finalizing the text of the treaty, three other issues were discussed at the meetings, the source said.

The working group reviewed a MoU on managed immigration, which had been under consideration for the past three years and both sides agreed to the MoU draft except on two points which related to determination of nationality and re-documentation of immigration offenders and the ceiling for the number of immigration offenders to be returned each month.

The British side desired that the Pakistan authorities clear these points by June 1 so that they could implement their plan regarding deportation of illegal Pakistani immigrants.

It may be recalled that the Pakistani authorities had requested the British government for extraditing two people in September 2002 and August 2203. However, the request was turned down as no extradition treaty existed between the two countries.

The source said the UK delegation also raised the request for the one-off extradition of three suspects involved in the murder of Kriss Donald.

The British government had requested for the extradition of three British nationals — Imran Shahid, Zeeshan Shahid and Faisal Mushtaq – who were allegedly involved in the abduction and murder of Kriss Donald in Glasgow, Scotland, in March 2004.

During the working group meeting the Pakistani side took note of the draft prisoner transfer agreement presented by the UK delegation and agreed to consider its terms.

The source said the Pakistani side informed the British officials that the draft was being considered and would be finalized soon.