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“Yes, we received information that a counselor from the Pakistani Embassy in Bangkok along with other officials is coming to Pakistan to appear before investigators on May 29,” confirmed Inam Ghani, head of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team investigating the case.
The FIA team summoned counselor Amin Amjad and assistant Ashraf Bhatti to appear before the FIA team this week or their passports would be blacklisted and arrest warrants be served, he added.
The FIA is investigating a scam where a number of high-profile Pakistani prisoners were extradited illegally from Thailand to Pakistan with the help of diplomats, federal as well as provincial authorities.
Read: Prisoner extradition inquiry: Diplomats refuse to cooperate with FIA
If they fail to appear before the team on the said date, the FIA would, under section 174 of the Pakistan Penal Code, go to court against the accused for not obeying an order from a public servant, he explained.
In a unique case, a citizen of Myanmar, Ibrahim Koko, who was jailed in Thailand, was extradited from Bangkok to Islamabad, perhaps with the connivance of Pakistani officials, Ghani revealed.
“It is utterly strange how a foreign national can be shifted from Bangkok to Islamabad,” he said, adding that the prisoner is in Pakistani officials’ custody.
The FIA team summoned the deputy high commissioner, consular and accountant of the Pakistani Embassy in Thailand, after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar ordered an inquiry into the case.
Investigators have already questioned Ambassador Sohail Khan and deputy head of the mission in Bangkok on this issue.
Read: Black warrant issued for murder convict
Earlier, diplomats refused to cooperate with the investigators, FIA Director General Akbar Khan Hoti confirmed to The Express Tribune.
“We’ve summoned them again. They should cooperate with us,” he added.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah and Pakistani Embassy officials in Bangkok did not respond to The Express Tribune on this issue even after several messages were sent to them.
Last month, the then Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said, “No one from MOFA was involved in any wrongdoings. We are clear about that. I will not comment over the rest.”
With this scam, the government has temporarily stopped enforcement on the agreements with other countries for exchange of convicted criminals. This unusual decision has halted the transfer of around 3,000 convicted prisoners from 30 countries, interior ministry officials claimed.
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