UK govt given 4 weeks to obtain release of Pakistani

British troops captured Pakistan national Rahmatullah, in Iraq in 2004 before handing him over to US authorities.

British judges on Wednesday gave the government four weeks to obtain the release of a Pakistani man held in US custody in Afghanistan, a ruling that could make for prickly discussions between British officials and their American counterparts, The Associated Press reported.

The ruling comes nearly a week after the UK-legal charity Reprieve won its habeas corpus petition claiming that Yunus Rahmatullah’s detention lacked sufficient cause or evidence, and that British forces violated international law when they handed him over to American troops nearly eight years ago.

British Appeals Court justices said the British government has until Jan 18 to obtain freedom for Rahmatullah, accused of being a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba. The appeals court order is final meaning that Rahmatullah must be released.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2011.