Not wanted: Bosnia tribunal did not seek ex-ISI chief’s ‘custody’

Tribunal says Karadzic asked General Nasir to be available for interview but withdrew the call.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) did not demand ‘custody’ of former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Javed Nasir, a retired lieutenant general, for his alleged support to Muslim fighters of Bosnia against the Serbian army in the 1990s.

Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic asked the Trial Chamber, on October 9, 2009, to issue an invitation to the Pakistan government to make available for interview Lt Gen Nasir, said a statement from the ICTY spokesperson Nerma Jelacic.

This request was ultimately withdrawn by Karadzic on January 27, 2010, the statement added. “No such summons was issued and no Chamber of the Tribunal has made any ruling whatsoever on Lt Gen Nasir’s alleged involvement in the war in Bosnia during the 1990s,” the statement said.

The statement pointed out that no arrest warrant, subpoena or motion has been issued or indeed any contact made whatsoever with regard to Lt Gen Nasir by any parties in the trial of Momcilo Perisic or during the pre-trial proceedings of Ratko Mladic, nor did they make any statements relating to ex-ISI chief.

Earlier, it was reported that Pakistan had refused to hand over Lt Gen Nasir to the ICTY on medical grounds. Islamabad had informed the court that the former general had ‘lost his memory’ following a recent road incident, and was, therefore, unable to face any investigation into the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2011.