Draft of readmission treaty with Britain finalised

A special cabinet committee on Monday finalised the recommendations for the Return and Readmission Agreement between Pakistan and UK and decided to send the draft to London for consultation before submitting it to the federal cabinet for approval.

The committee met here with Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed in the chair. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari. Prime Minister’s Adviser for Interior Shehzad Akbar did not attend the meeting.

During the meeting, the ministers pointed to certain anomalies in the provisions in the agreement. Later, the agreement draft was finalised. The committee decided to share the draft agreement with the British government for consultation.

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As per the final draft, agreement will allow repatriation of the citizens, who have been sentenced by the courts and all the opportunities for filing these appeals will have been met. The agreement will apply to those convicted, residing illegally in Pakistan or in the UK.

After consultation with the UK, the Return and Readmission Agreement will be submitted to the Cabinet for final approval. However, this agreement is separate from the extradition agreement being considered by the two governments.

The committee decided to conclude the Pakistan-UK Extradition Agreement, which will make the extradition of convicted persons between Pakistan and the United Kingdom possible. The draft of the Extradition Agreement was sent to Pakistan from the UK government in 2019.

Under the extradition treaty if a person flees to the UK after being convicted by the courts can be handed over. Pakistan had written for the return of former finance minister Ishaq Dar in 2019 but he had not been sent back yet by the British government.