ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: The Foreign Office on Thursday said it had not yet received a formal request from the Afghan government for extradition of captured Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi but would consider it if it were made.
Chief Taliban spokesman Hakimi was arrested by Pakistani security forces on Monday reportedly somewhere along the tribal belt.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam when asked by this correspondent if Pakistan would consider handing over the Taliban spokesman to Afghan authorities given President Hamid Karzai’s reported statement that Hakimi be extradited to Afghanistan, she said: “We have not received any formal request from Kabul.”
Not ruling out the possibility of Hakimi’s extradition, spokesperson Aslam added: “We will consider it, if and when such a request is made.”
Federal Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao while confirming the arrest of Hakimi on Tuesday said he was being interrogated by Pakistani intelligence agencies at some undisclosed location.
Given the sensitive nature of the arrest the government is keeping under wraps details of Hakimi’s capture and leads it may have got from him.
Hakimi is a close aide of top Taliban leader Mulla Omar who figures prominently in the US list of ‘most wanted’ Taliban and Al Qaeda men.
Agencies add: Hakimi was detained with five other suspected Taliban members in a raid this week on a house on the outskirts of Quetta.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai told France’s LCI television during a visit to France on Wednesday his country would seek the extradition of Hakimi, who Karzai said was responsible for many atrocities in Afghanistan.
Hakimi was frequently in touch with reporters, speaking by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.
Pakistani intelligence officials say they have been questioning Hakimi about his links with senior Taliban leaders, the organisation and structure of the Taliban, and to determine how he was operating in Pakistan.
Pakistan-UK talks:
Three-day talks between Pakistan and Britain will start here on Friday to enhance strategic relations between the two countries, said FO spokesperson Tasneem Aslam.
During the talks, issues of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, bilateral cooperation on disarmament and non-proliferation and the question of nuclear safety will be discussed, she added. The agenda for the talks had been set during the recent visit of British defence secretary to Pakistan.
Additional Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tariq Usman would lead the Pakistan team at the talks.
In a statement, the FO spokesperson clarified that Pakistan had not handed over any of its nationals to the UK. “Pakistan has, however, deported some British nationals,” she said.
Jinnah House: Pakistan has demanded that India hand over the Jinnah House for opening its consulate general in Mumbai.
The FO spokesperson clarified that Pakistan had not given up its claim on the Jinnah House which should be handed over to Pakistan.
“The people of Pakistan have sentimental attachment with the Jinnah House,” she added.