KABUL: Afghanistan on Friday turned down Islamabad’s request to hand over a Daesh leader in Afghanistan and Pakistani national, Aslam Farooqi, who was recently arrested on its soil.
On Thursday, Islamabad asked the Afghan government to hand over custody of the high ranking militant for his involvement in anti-Pakistan activities, and summoned Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Atif Mashal, to further the extradition request.
The request was denied a day later.
“Since there is no extradition treaty between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Aslam Farooqi will be dealt with based on Afghanistan’s laws,” the Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued Friday.
“Aslam Farooqi is among the leaders of Daesh who has carried out many crimes in Afghanistan,” the statement continued and said he was responsible for the deaths of several Afghan civilians and soldiers.
Farooqi, who took over Daesh’s Khorasan chapter in July 2019, was detained by Afghan intelligence forces earlier this month and accused of a bombing at a Kabul Sikh temple which killed 25 worshippers in March. The group’s regional branch has claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Islamabad’s Foreign Office has argued that since Farooqi was involved in anti-Pakistan activities in Afghanistan, he should be handed over to Pakistan “for further investigations.”
Pakistan’s statement said the two countries “should coordinate actions against the menace of terrorism, including through established mechanisms.”
In the past few years, Afghan officials have reported killing or arresting several Daesh leaders in Afghanistan in joint raids with US-led troops in a series of relentless bombings in eastern Afghanistan.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and other officials have claimed they successfully wiped out Daesh in the eastern part of the country-- the bastion of the group near the Durand Line, a lawless and porous region that forms the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Despite these claims, Daesh claimed responsibility for two deadly attacks in Kabul in the past two months and, more recently, for a rocket strike on Bagram airfield – America’s significant military base to the north of Kabul.
Afghan officials have not specifically named any of the raids in which Farooqi was implicated, but hours after his arrest, first Vice President Amrullah Saleh termed it a “massive victory” and a “treasure of intelligence,” suggesting the national spy agencies would have to use special tactics to “make him talk.”
However, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Arab News on April 7 that Farooqi had turned himself in to Afghan authorities himself, while seeking shelter from a Taliban siege against a group of Daesh fighters in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunar province.
“The government forces have given him shelter, and now they take credit and are claiming his arrest,” Mujahid claimed.
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Kabul turns down Islamabad’s request to extradite Daesh chief
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Kabul turns down Islamabad’s request to extradite Daesh chief
- Says no extradition treaty exists between the two countries
- Islamabad says Daesh chief involved in anti-Pakistan activities
South Korea calls for resuming dialogue with North
- President Lee Jae Myung has sought to mend ties with the nuclear-armed North since taking office in June
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul
SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Sunday for dialogue with North Korea to resume, after Pyongyang last week shunned the prospect of diplomacy with its neighbor.
Since taking office in June, a dovish Lee has sought to mend ties with the nuclear-armed North, which reaffirmed its anti-Seoul approach during a party meeting last week.
“As my administration has repeatedly made clear, we respect the North’s system and will neither engage in any type of hostile acts, nor pursue any form of unification by absorption,” Lee said in a speech marking the anniversary of a historical campaign against Japan’s colonial rule.
“We will also continue our efforts to resume dialogue with the North,” he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, describing its overtures as “clumsy, deceptive farce and a poor work.”
Speaking at the party congress in Pyongyang, Kim said North Korea has “absolutely no business dealing with South Korea, its most hostile entity, and will permanently exclude South Korea from the category of compatriots.”
But he also said the North could “get along well” with the United States if Washington acknowledges its nuclear status.
Speculation has mounted over whether US President Donald Trump will seek a meeting with Kim during planned travels to China.
Last year, Trump said he was “100 percent” open to a meeting.
Previous Trump-Kim summits during the US president’s first term fell apart after the pair failed to agree over sanctions relief — and what nuclear concessions North Korea might make in return.
Since taking office in June, a dovish Lee has sought to mend ties with the nuclear-armed North, which reaffirmed its anti-Seoul approach during a party meeting last week.
“As my administration has repeatedly made clear, we respect the North’s system and will neither engage in any type of hostile acts, nor pursue any form of unification by absorption,” Lee said in a speech marking the anniversary of a historical campaign against Japan’s colonial rule.
“We will also continue our efforts to resume dialogue with the North,” he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, describing its overtures as “clumsy, deceptive farce and a poor work.”
Speaking at the party congress in Pyongyang, Kim said North Korea has “absolutely no business dealing with South Korea, its most hostile entity, and will permanently exclude South Korea from the category of compatriots.”
But he also said the North could “get along well” with the United States if Washington acknowledges its nuclear status.
Speculation has mounted over whether US President Donald Trump will seek a meeting with Kim during planned travels to China.
Last year, Trump said he was “100 percent” open to a meeting.
Previous Trump-Kim summits during the US president’s first term fell apart after the pair failed to agree over sanctions relief — and what nuclear concessions North Korea might make in return.
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