Pakistan court halts terror suspect’s extradition to US

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Monday halted the extradition to the US of a Pakistani-American terror suspect until further orders, local media reported.

A two-judge bench, led by Justice Mushir Alam, barred the government from handing over Talha Haroon, who is reportedly in his early 20s, to Washington on the petition of his father, local broadcaster Express News reported.

The FBI accuses Haroon of being a Daesh/ISIS sympathizer, and involved in planning of multiple terror attacks. Also, according to FBI, he wanted to carry out Paris-style attacks in New York City in June 2016.

In Nov, 2015, terrorists carried out a series of coordinated attacks in Paris, including a suicide bombing at restaurants and a concert at the Bataclan theatre, killing at least 130 People.

He was arrested in Pakistan in 2016 after US authorities identified him as one of three suspects, allegedly involved in planning attacks at a Times Square subway, and at a concert hall.

If there is no agreement between Islamabad and Washington, then how can the accused be extradited, the court questioned.

“By the way, the United States takes away whomever it wants without any agreement,” Justice Qazi Amin, another member of the bench, was quoted as saying by Express News.

“Pakistan is a sovereign state. What is the evidence on the basis of which the accused should be handed over?," he further remarked.

“We will protect our citizens according to law,” Amin added.

The court also sought details of extradition treaties, if any, with the US and the UK, within the next two weeks.