ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday reversed an order to extradite an American citizen of Pakistani origin to the United States for allegedly planning a terrorist attack in New York with the so-called Islamic State (IS).

IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani disposed of a petition filed by Haroon Rashid, the father of the suspect Talha Haroon, against the extradition of his son to the US and remanded the case back to the district administration.

Justice Kayani remanded the case back to the inquiry officer, the additional district magistrate of Islamabad, with a direction to re-examine the case after hearing the officer who conducted the investigation in the US and US embassy representatives in Pakistan.

Order to extradite US citizen for alleged involvement in planning terrorist attack reversed

The court order allowed the suspect’s counsel to cross examine US officials during their appearance before the magistrate.

The petition cited the interior secretary, Federal Investigation Agency director general, Central Jail Adiala superintendent and district administration as respondents.

According to the petition, Talha Haroon was living in Quetta with his father, who is also a US citizen. The petition claimed Talha did not commit any offence in the US.

It said that after American authorities sought custody of the suspect, the matter was referred to the Islamabad district magistrate and an inquiry was conducted by the additional district magistrate.

After hearing both parties, the magistrate on Jan 15, 2017, recommended to the federal government that the suspect should be extradited to the US under section 13 of the Extradition Act, the petition said.

The petition said the suspect is innocent and has a fundamental right to life under Article 9 read with Article 14 of the Constitution, and his extradition to America would endanger his life.

The petition also claimed that the case against the petitioner’s son was concocted and false.

According to the investigation carried out by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Talha Haroon was in Pakistan in April 2016 and planned multiple terrorist attacks in New York City.

The FBI claimed that, with IS support, he wanted to carry out Paris-style attacks in New York City around June 2016. It said the suspects “identified multiple potential targets of their plot to launch terrorist attacks in New York City.” One of the targets was the New York City subway, as well as Times Square and a concert hall.

On Nov 13, 2015, terrorists carried out a series of coordinated attacks in Paris, France, during a football match. This was followed by several mass shootings and a suicide bombing at restaurants and a concert at the Bataclan theatre. At least 130 people were killed.

The FBI also claimed that Talha Haroon had been associated with the outlawed Taliban before switching his allegiance to IS.

According to the report prepared by the Ministry of Interior, the government had directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to take custody of the suspect from Adiala jail and hand him over to US authorities under intimation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The FIA took custody of him on March 24 but deferred his extradition since the IHC in March 2017 had issued a stay in this matter.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2019