Extradition of drug trafficker: IHC seeks report from Foreign Office

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday sought a report from the Foreign Office in a case pertaining to the extradition of international drug trafficker Ibrahim Koko from Thailand.

During the hearing, Justice Mohsin Akhter Kiyani remarked that the court would summon secretaries of the Interior Ministry and Foreign Affairs in person if the report couldn't be presented till January next year. The court asked what action was taken against the officers involved in preparing the fake documents that allowed the international drug trafficker to travel to Pakistan.

The bench further asked that if departmental action was taken against the officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and interior ministry for their involvement in the crime. The assistant attorney general informed the court that Ibrahim Koko was not a citizen of Pakistan, adding the government had been in contact with the Thailand Embassy here for his extradition.

The court remarked that under what status Koko had been kept in jail for the last four years. Justice Kiyani noted that Koko was brought to Pakistan on fake documents, which conveyed a wrong message to the world states. The Foreign Office officers were also involved in it, he said. The bench sought the report from the ministry and adjourned the case till January 19.

It may be mentioned here that Koko had been deported from Thailand to Pakistan after he was convicted in a drug smuggling case. He allegedly managed to get a Pakistani passport in Thailand based on a fake domicile issued from Khushab and was deported to Pakistan.