IHC stays extradition of Karachi resident to US

ISLAMABAD: Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here Monday while deciding a Civil Miscellaneous Application (CMA) stayed extradition of a Karachi resident to the United States of America (USA) ordering not to handover the applicant.

Applicant, Mujahid Pervez, had filed this CMA in an already pending main writ petition seeking to set aside extradition process initiated against him. The petitioner cited federation of Pakistan through secretary Ministry of Interior, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General)-ADCG/Additional District Magistrate Islamabad and the state through Director General (DG) Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as respondents.

The petitioner migrated to the USA in 1972 and started pharmaceutical business there. In September 2012, he returned to Pakistan. The petitioner stated in the petition that sometime after he returned to the country, the USA government wrote a letter to Pakistan through Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking extradition of the petitioner.

Ministry of Interior on April 17, 2015 wrote a letter to the ADCG Islamabad and decided to hold an inquiry in terms of section 7 of the Extradition Act 1972. Ministry of Interior in the said letter addressed to ADCG said that the petitioner was allegedly involved in offences related to corruption and required to stand trial in the Supreme Court of New York. ADCG was directed to hold inquiry.

On April 29, 2015, the petitioner's warrant of arrest was issued and he was arrested on October 14, 2015. After arrest, he was produced before ADCG and remanded to judicial custody. In USA there were allegations of corruption against the petitioner. ADCG conducted inquiry and submitted a report on July 20, 2017.