ISLAMABAD: Claims that former military ruler Pervez Musharraf extradited hundreds of Pakistani nationals – mainly to the US in exchange for US dollars — resurfaced when former Justice Javed Iqbal, chairman of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, said as many as 4,000 Pakistanis were “secretly handed over” to foreign countries, during his rule.
Justice Iqbal made his statement in a briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights on Monday, adding that Musharraf’s Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao was aware of the deal.
“How could someone secretly hand over the Pakistani nationals to any other country?” asked Iqbal, describing the actions illegal, unlawful and a violation of human rights.
Iqbal, a retired judge, who chairs the country’s anti-corruption watchdog National Accountability Bureau (NAB), added: “They received (US) dollars in return ... Parliament should get this investigated.”
However, the claims have been rejected as “baseless” and ”exaggerated” by Musharraf's and Sherpao's political parties.
“... without evidence, without any proof, without any witnesses, they are leveling outlandish allegations on a former president which amounts to no less than character assassination,” said Mahreen Malik Adam, spokesperson for Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), while talking to Arab News.
She said: “Around 400 people were handed over and they were not Pakistanis. They were foreigners from across the border who were involved in terrorist activities damaging Pakistan’s image.”
“This is a lie,” said Faqir Hussain, a veteran and loyalist of Sherpao’s Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), speaking to Arab News. Hussain said it was out of the question that his party chief Sherpao would resort to profiting from extraditing Pakistanis. “If there is any proof, we would like them to take the matter to court,” Hussain added.
A 2006 Amnesty International report said that authorities in Pakistan rounded up hundreds of people, who were accused of committing terrorist acts, and handed them to US authorities for rewards or detained individuals at undisclosed locations. Some were kept in US prisons.
The report, entitled “Pakistan: Human Rights Ignored in the ‘War on Terror’,” accused Pakistan of human rights violations for monetary and other gains from US and its allies.
Musharraf, who ruled from 1999-2008, took control of Pakistan in a bloodless military coup, toppling the democratically elected government. A number of court cases against him are pending. He currently lives in the UAE.
Adam strongly refuted accusations that Musharraf stepped out of line in contravention of the law. “The assertions (are) malign and disrespect Pakistan, not just Musharraf, and our party will respond accordingly.”
NAB chief accuses Musharraf of handing over 4,000 Pakistanis to US
NAB chief accuses Musharraf of handing over 4,000 Pakistanis to US
- Former army chief's party spokesperson rubbishes claim.
- Adam strongly refuted accusations that Musharraf stepped out of line in contravention of the law.
Two killed in suicide attack targeting security forces in Pakistan’s northwest
ISLAMABAD: Two security personnel, including an officer, were killed, while multiple others sustained injuries when a suicide blast targeted their vehicle in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a police official said.
The suicide bomber hit his explosive-laden motorbike into an armored vehicle of security forces in Sara Darga area of KP’s Bannu district, according to a local police official who requested anonymity.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have carried out similar assaults in the region in past.
“The attack had damaged the armored vehicle, causing deaths and injuries,” he told Arab News, adding that they suspected the Pakistani Taliban to be behind the attack.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan, in recent years, with militant groups, particularly the TTP, frequently targeting security forces, law enforcers and government officials in the region.
Earlier this week, Pakistani Taliban militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a checkpoint jointly manned by security forces and law enforcement agencies in KP’s Bajaur district, killing 11 security personnel among 12 people, the Pakistani military’s media wing said.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for cross-border attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny this.
