Islamabad: Pakistan has decided to write to Interpol for the extradition of Baloch separatist leader Brahamdagh Bugti, who is now seeking political asylum in India, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said.
“The Federal Investigation Agency will send a formal reference to Interpol within the next few days for the extradition of Brahamdagh Bugti,” the Express Tribune quoted Mr Khan as saying at the headquarters of the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) yesterday.
Mr Khan’s statement comes days after Baloch Republican Party (BRP) chief visited the Indian consulate in Geneva to inquire about the process of seeking asylum in India.
Mr Bugti’s application seeking political asylum in India has been received by the Indian Home Ministry which is examining it.
Mr Bugti, the grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a Baloch nationalist leader killed by the Pakistani army in 2006, has been living in exile in Switzerland. Islamabad has always blamed India for helping Mr Bugti flee to Geneva in 2010 via Afghanistan.
Commenting on the move, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said that Mr Bugti’s request for asylum in India, was indicative of New Delhi’s involvement in terrorism in Balochistan.
“Their (Indians’) feelings about Brahamdagh Bugti and their invitation to him unmistakably establish who is behind terrorism (in Balochistan),” Mr Khan said.
“The government is doing its homework. In the next few days, we will be writing to Interpol about this person through the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency). We will be sending a formal reference to Interpol, asking for his extradition to Pakistan,” he added.
Mr Khan also accused India of blaming Pakistan for the Uri attack without any concrete evidence.
“The Indians don’t have any evidence, so what sort of investigation can Pakistan carry out? They have blamed us just to defame Pakistan,” he asserted.
At least 18 Indian soldiers were killed in a terror attack on an army base camp in the Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri on Sunday.
PTI