Extradition of Taliban from Pakistan Blocked, CBS News, 26 February 2010
EXCERPT: "A provincial high court in Pakistan's Punjab province on Friday blocked the Pakistani government from extraditing recently-arrested Taliban leaders — notably military chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (left) — to the United States, Afghanistan, or any other country until the matter is heard further in court. The court's intervention (in response to a petition from an individual campaigning against Pakistan's ties with the U.S.) immediately cast doubt on a case seen as an example of Pakistan's growing support of Washington's hunt for Taliban militants within their borders... Following today's decision, Khalid Khawaja, a campaigner who has opposed Pakistan's support of the U.S. in hunting down Islamic militants and who filed the petition to the Lahore high court, told CBS News, 'This is a great day for me. The government has finally been told in categorical terms that these people cannot be sent outside Pakistan for now.' ... 'As you can appreciate, Pakistan does have voices of dissent in the public place. This is a country where democracy is taking root. We may not like some of these dissenting voices, but they do make a difference,' said one Western diplomat in Islamabad, who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity."
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Related articles:
"No extradition" for Taliban chiefs held in Pakistan, BBC News, 26 February 2010
Pakistan has agreed to hand over Baradar, others: Kabul, Daily Times, 26 February 2010
Related posts:
Govt agrees to transfer Baradar to Afghanistan, 25 February 2010
Confusion over deal to transfer captured Taliban leader to Afghanistan, 24 February 2010
Intelligence co-operation key to Taliban arrests, 19 February 2010
Taliban arrest confirmed, deemed crucial for Pakistan, 17 February 2010
