Pakistan asks UK to extradite ex-PM Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has formally written a letter to the authorities in the United Kingdom, seeking extradition of the country’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan confirmed on Tuesday only a few days after the government accused the ex-premier of violating the medical bail conditions.
“The letter has been written to the UK for Nawaz Sharif’s deportation,” Awan said while addressing a press briefing after the federal cabinet meeting here in Islamabad.
She said the former PM had gone to London for treatment after submitting an affidavit in the court, and “we hope he’ll honor his commitment.”
The ex-premier was granted an eight-week medical bail in October last year to get medical treatment in London. The Islamabad High Court allowed him to request an extension from the provincial authorities of Punjab, but the latter turned down his plea last week, citing insufficient legal, moral or medical grounds.
The Punjab government had written several letters to Sharif to submit his medical reports from any hospital in London, but he failed to do that and instead dispatched a medical certificate which was not accepted by the board, Awan said.
“Nawaz Sharif has not been admitted to any UK hospital despite being there for the last 105 days,” she said. The government noted in the letter that the bail period of the ex-PM had expired and he should be extradited to serve his jail term.
In December 2018, Sharif was sentenced to seven years in jail for corruption. He denies any wrongdoing and has termed all charges against him as politically motivated.
Sharif’s party maintains that the three-time ex-premier is critically ill and should not return to Pakistan since that would compromise his medical treatment. “Nawaz Sharif won’t return to Pakistan unless he fully recovers,” Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, a senior PML-N leader, told Arab News on Monday.
According to legal experts, the possibility of Sharif’s deportation was limited in the absence of an extradition treaty between Pakistan and the UK.
“The government can request the UK authorities for Nawaz Sharif’s deportation, but the initiation of a legal process in absence of the extradition treaty is almost impossible,” Barrister Omer Malik told Arab News.
He said that sometimes governments of different countries cooperate with each other over certain issues, including extradition of convicted criminals in the absence of formal treaties.
“It totally depends on relevant UK departments as to how they take the government’s letter [requesting Sharif’s deportation] and if they would like to initiate any legal process on the basis of that,” Malik added.