ISLAMABAD, Dec 15 (APP): The Ministry of Interior and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in collaboration with CODE PAKISTAN and Research Society of International Law (RSIL) developed the handbook “Navigating Extradition in Pakistan” which was launched by Secretary Interior Dr Aftab Akbar Durrani on Friday.
Addressing the ceremony, the interior secretary said that the practitioner’s handbook on extradition was of utmost importance to the Ministry of Interior due to its mandated role in that regard.
The secretary highlighted the increasing trend in transnational crimes such as terrorism, money laundering, and human and drug trafficking, which necessitates a concerted international effort for effective law enforcement cooperation.
He said that there had been a collective global effort to improve international cooperation mechanisms, with extradition being a crucial component of the initiative.
The secretary said that the extradition should not be seen as a criminal trial or a verdict on a fugitive’s guilt or innocence rather it was a cooperative process for transferring individuals to the jurisdiction of a state seeking their prosecution so that they could not escape legal consequences.
He clarified that the decision to extradite does not imply the fugitive’s guilt of an underlying crime but is an assessment of whether there is a just cause for transferring the person from one state to another to face justice.
He said despite having requisite legal instruments and policies in place, challenges might arise in the extradition process.
“Geopolitical tensions, law enforcement priorities, resource constraints, and political relations between states can complicate the process, even though Pakistan has established extradition procedures. This highlights the need for careful navigation of these complexities in addressing contentious issues” he added.
It was mostly enabled by a treaty, however, in some cases, it was done on the basis of an individual memorandum of understanding and on a case-by-case basis, he added.
Dr Aftab Akbar Durrani said the process was fraught with strategic as well as operational level delays. The extradition process was not widely understood by Pakistani authorities and its timelines could become excessively long.
One key bottleneck, he said, was the enquiry magistrate proceedings which often and erroneously became a full trial.
He said the ‘Practitioner’s Handbook’ was intended to function as a comprehensive resource for professionals, including the government officials, involved at every stage of handling extradition requests.
“It provides a detailed and structured description of the extradition process and requires the enquiry magistrate to conduct proceedings summarily so extradition requests can be processed expeditiously and justly,” he added.
The event was also attended by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb of the Islamabad High Court and the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad.
Other guests included senior officials from the ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Law and Justice as well as the Economic Affairs Division, law enforcement agencies, and regulatory bodies like the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU), Securities Exchange Commission Pakistan (SECP) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Officials of international organisations working in the area of serious and organised crime in Pakistan also attended the launch.
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