The government on Thursday demanded the Afghan government hand over Maulvi Faqir, a key Taliban leader, to Pakistan as he was wanted to security forces in a number of terrorism cases.
Faqir had run away to Afghanistan’s Kunar province after Pakistani forces launched a military operation in the tribal region where he was staying.
Last Monday, Afghan forces arrested him when he was on his way to Khyber Agency from Kunar.
He was suspected to be behind attacks on military in Bajaur and later launching attacks on Pakistani border posts from across the border.
In his weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesman Moazam Khan on Thursday said Pakistan had called for extradition of Maulvi Faqir and other wanted Pakistani Taliban. He said on Thursday night, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar took up extradition of wanted Taliban with her Afghan counterpart Zalmay Rassoul.
To a query, he said Afghanistan will capture all those Pakistani Taliban, who while sitting in Afghanistan, were engaged in anti-Pakistan activities.
The FO spokesman said Pakistan wanted to see a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, adding that Afghan soil should not be used against Pakistan.
On GwadarPort accord with China, Khan said handing over GwadarPort to a Chinese company was a purely economic venture so no country should be “worried” about it.
To another question, he said Pakistan was committed to pursuing the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project. “We are enormously energy deficient. This project is in our national interest. We know the US has reservations over this project… but we are determined to going ahead with it.”
Asked why the Foreign office had been keeping mum over the issue of deportation of former OGRA chief Tauqir Sadiq allegedly involved in Rs 82 billion scam, the FO spokesman said the Foreign Office had written a formal letter to the United Arab Emirates for the deportation of the accused and response was awaited.