LHC blocks extradition of Baradar, others

LAHORE Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif on Friday restrained the federal and Punjab governments from extraditing five captured Afghan Taliban leaders to America or any other country besides seeking replies by March 15 on the issue of handing them over to America.
These Taliban leaders are alleged to be involved in terrorist activities.
The Court passed this order on a writ petition filed by Khalid Khawaja, Chief Coordinator Defence Human Rights Commission.
The CJ held that the detenus would not be moved outside Pakistan without the courts permission.
The petitioners counsel Tariq Asad contended that the detenus were nabbed in a joint American and Pakistani agencies raid on February 16 from different parts of Pakistan.
They include Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Afghan Talibans senior military commander and a close friend of Mullah Omar, Mullah Abdul Salam, the Talibans unofficial political chief in Kunduz, acting also as the groups senior military commander, Maulvi Kabeer, the Governor of Nangahar province East of Kabul during the Taliban regime, Mullah Muhammad of Baghlan and Ameer Muawiyia, described as the Talibans liaison officer for al-Qaeda militants based in Pakistans Tribal Areas, close to the Afghan border.
The counsel pointed out that Major General Athar Abbas, the chief spokesman of Pakistans Army, had confirmed the arrest of Mullah Baradar in a text message to the media persons.
Relying on media reports, the petitioner said these detenus were being interrogated by US and Pakistani intelligence agencies but other details about them were not released on the pretext of security reasons. However, Pakistans government denied these reports terming it propaganda against State sovereignty.
The counsel said Richard Holbrooke, US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan also hailed Baradars arrest, calling it a 'significant development.
He alleged that arrested Taliban were close aides to Mullah Omar.
It is said that they have not been produced before any court of law as required under the law nor have the grounds of their detention been provided to them.
Under the law, they were to be produced before the magisterial court within 24 hours after arrest.
The counsel said any person detained in Pakistan should be dealt with in accordance with law of the land irrespective of the fact that they are Afghan nationals.
They should be tried by competent courts of Pakistan, hence raid by the US agencies and investigation by them is against the provisions of the Constitution and negation of the State sovereignty, he added.
He said interference of America and its intelligence agencies in our affairs was external intervention and was of contravention of the international right of independence of a State under the United Nations Charter.
He said Americans were bent upon to implement its 'New World Order as they wanted to rule over the whole world. In order to accomplish their nefarious designs they are planning to overpower Muslims.
They are patronising the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, now Jamat-ud-Daawat, in Afghanistan, the members of which are highly paid by the America and Blackwater. In return, they are spying against the Muslims of Pakistan and Afghanistan, selling Muslims and are assisting America to achieve their objectives, but they pretended to be Taliban. Thus they are patronising the terrorists against Islam, the petitioner explained.
He pleaded for restraining Federal government from handing over or escorting the detenus to America, Afghanistan or any other country and directing them to restrain the American officials or their investigating agencies like FBI. from interfering into the affairs of Pakistan.
He requested the court to order independent investigation without the interference of FBI or any other foreign intelligence agency.