Pakistan court dismisses Taliban (Baradar) extradition challenge

[Robb]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - A Pakistani court on Tuesday threw out a petition seeking to block the extradition of the Afghan Taliban's No. 2 leader and other senior commanders detained in Pakistan, a lawyer said.

U.S. ally Pakistan captured at least four Afghan Taliban leaders, including top military strategist Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, early this year. The Afghan government has asked Islamabad to hand them over.

But Khalid Khawaja, a former Pakistani intelligence officer turned campaigner for Islamist causes, petitioned the Lahore High Court seeking to block their extraditions, which it did in February, pending its final decision on the petition.

However, the court on Tuesday threw out the case following the death of the petitioner.

"The court dismissed the petition because of the death of Khalid Khawaja and has asked that a fresh petition should be moved if somebody wants to pursue the case," Tariq Asad, the lawyer for Khawaja, told Reuters.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64A1R720100511

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You'll recall Khalid Khawaja was, it appears, killed by Taliban, sort of a Daniel Pearl gambit. You can't make this stuff up. If you wrote this in a spy novel, and submitted it, you'd get red-penned for being unrealistic.

[NJmaverick]

1. good news

[cosmicone]

2. They allow extraditions to the US

to keep the money flowing, but routinely block extraditions to India.