ISLAMABAD: Pakistani court has temporarily barred the extradition of a US citizen of Pakistani origin who is accused of planning a terrorist attack in New York, a lawyer said Wednesday.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of Islamabad High Court suspended the extradition order against Talha Haroon, 19, who is currently jailed in Rawalpindi pending his repatriation.
Lawyer Tariq Asad, who petitioned the Islamabad High Court against the order, said he had won a stay.
Siddiqui also summoned officials from the interior ministry for the next court hearing on April 11, according to an order seen by AFP.
“The allegation was that he was planning an armed operation against a public place in New York with IS,” Asad said, referring to the Daesh group.
He said Haroon had returned from the US to Pakistan more than a year ago.
In his application to the court, Haroon’s father Haroon Rashid had written: “The story against the petitioner’s son is entirely concocted and false. He is a young teenaged student and in case of extradition he may lose his life and career.”
He added his son was a victim of “biased and prejudiced policy against the Muslims” by US President Donald Trump.
Pakistan has a bilateral extradition treaty with the US that was signed before the South Asian country gained independence from Britain in 1947.
It has previously surrendered high-profile fugitives including Mir Qazi, convicted of the 1993 shootings at the CIA headquarters in Langley, and Ramzi Yousef, convicted for his part in the World Trade Center truck bombing the same year.
Pakistan court stops extradition of US citizen accused of terror plot
Pakistan court stops extradition of US citizen accused of terror plot
Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt
- Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years
DHAKA: A once-banned Bangladeshi religio-political party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February’s parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief said.
Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years as it marks a return to mainstream politics in the predominantly Muslim nation of 175 million.
Jamaat last held power between 2001 and 2006 as a junior coalition partner with the BNP and is open to working with it again.
“We want to see a stable nation for at least five years. If the parties come together, we’ll run the government together,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in an interview at his office in a residential area in Dhaka, days after the party created a buzz by securing a tie-up with a Gen-Z party.
Rahman said anti-corruption must be a shared agenda for any unity government.
The prime minister will come from the party winning the most seats in the Feb. 12 election, he added. If Jamaat wins the most seats, the party will decide whether he himself would be a candidate, Rahman said.
The party’s resurgence follows the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.
Rahman said Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern, as ties between the two countries have hit their lowest point in decades since her downfall.
Asked about Jamaat’s historical closeness to Pakistan, Rahman said: “We maintain relations in a balanced way with all.”
He said any government that includes Jamaat would “not feel comfortable” with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed with the Awami League’s backing in 2023.
