Prisoners’ extradition: Diplomat agrees to appear before FIA

Federal Investigation Agency says it will go to the court if the accused fails to appear on May 29

ISLAMABAD:

A Pakistani diplomat accused of illegally sending prisoners, including foreign nationals, from Bangkok to Islamabad has agreed to cooperate with investigators of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

“Yes, we received intimation that the consul at Pakistan’s Embassy in Bangkok, along with some other officials, is coming to Pakistan to appear before the investigators on May 29,” Inam Ghani, the head of the FIA team probing the matter, confirmed to The Express Tribune.

If the accused officials fail to appear before the FIA team, then the agency will move the court under Section 174 of the Pakistan Penal Code against them, Ghani added.

The FIA team summoned consul Amin Amjad and his assistant Ashraf Bhatti this week, warning that their passports would be blacklisted and arrest warrants issued in case of non-compliance.

The FIA team is investigating a scam where several high-profile Pakistani prisoners were illegally extradited from Thailand to Pakistan with the alleged help of diplomats as well as federal and provincial authorities.

In a unique case, a prisoner from Myanmar, Ibrahim Koko, was extradited from Bangkok to Islamabad possibly in connivance with Pakistani officials, Ghani revealed. “This is very strange how a foreign national could be shifted from Bangkok to Islamabad,” he added. “The prisoner is now under custody of Pakistani officials.”

The FIA team summoned the deputy high commissioner, consul and accountant at Pakistan’s Embassy in Thailand after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar ordered an inquiry into the case.

The FIA investigators have already questioned Ambassador Sohail Khan and Deputy Head of the Mission in Bangkok on this issue.

Earlier, the diplomats had refused to cooperate with the investigators. “We’ve summoned them again. They should cooperate with us,” said FIA Director General Akbar Khan Hoti, while talking to The Express Tribune.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah and Pakistani Embassy officials in Bangkok did not respond to several messages from The Express Tribune for his version.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar had taken strong exception to the unauthorised and illegal extradition of prisoners and ordered an inquiry into the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2015.