International

Pak. to consider extradition of Omar Sheikh

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Feb. 28. Pakistan today indicated that it was prepared to consider the request made by the United States for extradition of Omar Sheikh, the prime suspect in the Daniel Pearl murder case, after the investigations into the case were complete.

The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan, told a news conference here that the issue has formally figured in discussions between Pakistan and the U.S. and at the moment Islamabad would continue its with its investigations.

In response to a question Mr. Khan said Sheikh is under investigation for Pearl's murder. "First let us complete those investigations, before a decision was made to extradite him to U.S.'' He denied the suggestion that the extradition was delayed because of any mistrust or lack of a extradition treaty between the two countries. He said there was a treaty between British India and U.S. before Partition. Pakistan assumed the treaty after its creation. "Technically, an agreement exists. In this particular case, we will continue with investigations''.

Asked why Sheikh, who was also indicted by U.S. for kidnapping of American tourist in India in 1994 was not extradited earlier, he said it could be because Sheikh was in hiding. "Probably, the gentleman was absconding. He was not traceable'', he said.

The Press Secretary to the Pakistan President, Rashid Qureshi, who was also present at the press briefing, denied reports in the media that a U.S. aircraft was fired upon two days ago while it was landing at Jacobabad airbase in Pakistan. It is currently being used by American forces for their operations in Afghanistan.

``That is an absolutely incorrect report. There was no firing on any U.S. aircraft''. However, he said confusion was created by the presence of a brick kiln on the path of landing.

The sensors of the aircraft were activated after they detected the heat from the kiln. The aircraft was not fired upon as reported, Maj. Gen. Qureshi said.

Replying to a question, Gen. Qureshi also said the U.S. has agreed in principle to sell arms to Pakistan and modalities were discussed during the President, Pervez Musharraf's recent visit to the U.S. He said the details of sales would be discussed at the meeting of the Defence Consultative Committee, constituted recently by the two countries. The committee was expected to meet in a few months, he said.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Pak. denies hand in train attack
• U.S. backing crucial to Saudi plan: Arafat
• Arabs not to move motion at U.N.
• NATO extends hand of friendship to Russia
• Soldiers not trapped, says Israel
• Alice Keys crowned queen at Grammys
• Russia against U.S. role in Georgia
• Pak. to consider extradition of Omar Sheikh
• $5 m. reward for clue
• Musharraf seeks support on stand-off with India
• Ravi Shankar wins Grammy

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu