LAHORE: Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar says the Pakistan’s technical committee attending the next FATF meeting should raise concern that a convict (former premier Nawaz Sharif) is residing in the UK and needs to be extradited as per the Pakistan government’s request.

“Mr Sharif neither has UK citizenship nor a valid passport which has already expired during his stay in London, where he had actually gone to get medical treatment,” Mr Akbar told media at the chief minister’s secretariat on Friday.

The prime minister’s adviser said Nawaz Sharif had been cornered in the UK as the Pakistan government was actively pursuing his extradition case. He said Mr Sharif was a convict and was not even entitled to get a visit visa as per UK’s immigration laws.

“When Mr Sharif applied for second extension in his stay, Pakistan filed an objection with the UK home secretary and the extension request was rejected. “Now Nawaz Sharif has challenged the home secretary’s decision in the immigration tribunal,” he said and added that Mr Sharif would immediately be required to leave the UK in case the home secretary’s decision was upheld.

“Since Mr Sharif’s passport has expired and the renewal application rejected (for he being a proclaimed offender), the former prime minister will be issued one-time travel documents when he would be extradited or he himself planned to return to Pakistan,” he said and quipped that the Kot Lakhpat Jail was awaiting him.

The PM’s adviser said the Pakistan government had also filed an extradition request for former finance minister Ishaq Dar, former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son Salman Shehbaz and son-in-law Ali Imran.

He said Ishaq Dar’s extradition case was pending because he had filed an asylum request in the UK, while Salman Shehbaz and Ali Imran’s cases were also being pursued actively.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2021