The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday stayed extradition of an American citizen of Pakistani origin Talha Haroon to the United States (US) for allegedly planning an attack in New York in connivance with a militant group.
The court ordered that Haroon, who is under investigation, must not be extradited until the next hearing. The hearing of the case was conducted by a single-member bench comprising Mohsin Akhtar Kiani.
Justice Kiani said the court would announce its verdict once the defence lawyer completes his argument in the case.
Haroon has been incarcerated in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for more than a year. He had filed a bail plea through his lawyer at the IHC. His lawyer Idrees Ashraf had been representing him in the court, but on Wednesday his assistant lawyer turned up.
The hearing was adjourned until February 28.
Haroon, 19, was arrested in Pakistan in 2016 after US authorities identified him as one of three men, along with a Canadian citizen and a man from the Philippines, planning attacks on Manhattan’s Times Square and the city’s subway.
His lawyer, during one of the previous hearings, had termed the US investigation a sting operation carried out by an investigating officer motivated by career advancement.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) projected this as a high-level story, but these people don’t have the qualifications to kill a monkey,” Advocate Idrees Ashraf.
Idrees Ashraf said his client was only in contact with the investigating officer but never directly spoke with the co-accused, raising serious doubts about the nature of the investigation.
“According to the criminal complaint, the FBI agent communicated with Haroon online and has said he was active in IS, but no proof of militant links has been provided,” Ashraf added.
Published in Daily Times, January 17th 2019.
