Islamabad, May 11 (Inditop.com) A Pakistani court Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to stop the government from possible extradition of senior Afghan Taliban leaders to another country.
The Afghan government has sought the extradition of Taliban leaders arrested in Pakistan but the demand has not yet been accepted, Xinhua news agency reported.
Rejection of the petition has now paved the way for their extradition but analysts say Islamabad may not hand over them to Kabul.
Several senior Taliban leaders, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy to Taliban chief Mulla Muhammad Omar, have been arrested over the past three months in different Pakistani cities.
Afghan and UN officials disclosed that Mulla Baradar had been in contact with the Afghan government but his arrest had halted the process.
The Lahore High Court had earlier directed the government not to hand over the detainees to any other country after human rights activist Khalid Khwaja filed a petition.
Khwaja was abducted and killed by a militant group, Asian Tigers, in April in North Waziristan.
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif Tuesday rejected the petition on the ground that the petitioner has been killed.
The lawyer for the slain petitioner, Tariq Asad, sought time from the court to find another petitioner or pursue the case himself.
Pakistan has only confirmed the arrest of Mulla Baradar, but media reports citing security sources say at least 10 top Taliban leaders have been taken into custody.
The Pakistan government says it has no extradition treaty with Afghanistan and will follow the country’s legal system in dealing with the matter.
Last month, the US media reported that American investigators have joined the Pakistani officials in questioning Mulla Baradar.
