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Mother of amir Aziz
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LAHORE,
Pakistan, November 8 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A Pakistani
court Friday, November 8, issued an order restraining the government
from extraditing to any country a top surgeon suspected of (alleged)
links to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
"The
detainee shall not be extradited to any country without prior leave of
this court," the Lahore High Court declared, according to Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
The
restraining order was announced in response to two petitions filed
separately by Doctor Amir Aziz' mother Zakia, and a provincial
political leader, Khawaja Saad Rafique.
Aziz,
an eminent orthopedic surgeon who was known to have treated Taliban
and al-Qaeda patients in Afghanistan, was arrested by U.S. Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents on October 21.
The
court also directed the government to declare on what grounds Aziz has
been held for the past 18 days, and demanded a written reply from the
government.
Intelligence
officials have said Aziz was held on suspicion of having contact with
fugitive al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, and is believed to have treated
Bin Laden some time after last year's September 11 attacks.
"There
is evidence that he treated bin Laden after September 11," a
senior intelligence official told AFP.
Interior
Ministry official Brigadier Javed Cheema has said Amir was held in
federal government custody for interrogation. Local media reported
that government was considering handing over the doctor to the United
States were baseless, he said.
"There
is no truth in these reports. He will not be handed over to any third
country," Cheema told AFP.
Federal
deputy attorney general Danishwar Malik told the court he had no
knowledge of Aziz. A Punjab provincial law official said the doctor
was not required in any case.
Lawyers
for the petitioners expressed concern that Aziz may be extradited to
the U.S.
"This
restraint order shall remain in force until the next day of
hearing," Malik told AFP. The hearing will resume November 12.
On
Wednesday, November 6, Aziz’s mother filed a petition seeking a high
court's intervention over his "illegal" confinement.
"Aziz's
mother Zakia Begum has sought the immediate release of her son through
court intervention," a court official told AFP.
In
her petition Zakia said her son was innocent and had no links with any
terrorists, he said.
Meanwhile,
the party of exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also filed a
petition before the Lahore high court for the release of the doctor.
The
petition filed by Khawaja Saad Rafiq, provincial Secretary General of
the Pakistan Muslim League-N asked the court to depute officials to
recover Aziz from the "illegal detention of security
agencies," his lawyer said.
Aziz’s
detention has created a storm of protest in Pakistan as religious
parties, lawyers and professional bodies holding demonstration
demanding the government to release the doctor.
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