Ishaq Dar lodges protest with UK Home Office on extradition issue

Pakistan’s finance minister Ishaq Dar has lodged a protest with the UK Home Office over its reported discussion with Pakistan on his extradition.

Dar told Voice of America (VoA) that he “visited the Home Office on June 18 and lodged the protest on the ground that the extradition is a case of his severe political victimisation”.

He said there was a media report that the British Home Office and the government of Pakistan were going to sign an MoU on the issue of extradition. A media hype was created that he might be arrested under that MoU.

He claimed that the reported MoU was part of an earlier move, through which his passport was canceled and he was made ‘stateless’, a refugee. He had brought this uncalled for step to the notice of the British Home Office.

Dar said he was blamed that he had not submitted tax returns. That was contrary to the fact, as he had been regularly filing tax returns to the relevant department. And a record of 20 years to this effect was made available to the CRB.

Declaring him as an absconder by the court was against the norms of justice and fair play, he contended.

About his extradition, he argued that this demands a fair judicial process and it could not be done under an MoU.

During the interview, Dar also questioned the legality and justification of setting up a commission on loans, obtained during the last 10 years.  This is a malicious move on the part of PTI’s government. The government is also telling lie on the total amount of loans, he added.

While replying to various questions, he criticised the fiscal and economic policies of the present government, stating that these are adding miseries of the common man.

The government, he said has completely failed to deliver and take care of some basic economic issues, being confronted by the country and poor segment of the society.