Pakistan to sign extradition treaty with Uzbekistan

Islamabad/Tashkent, Mar 25(ANI): Pakistan is reportedly going to sign an extradition treaty with Uzbekistan as it faces security threats from the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, whose militants are most active in Pakistan's tribal areas as well as in Afghanistan.

The accord was to be signed this week during Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's two-day trip to Uzbekistan, but differences between the experts of both countries on the draft of the agreement caused a slight delay, The Express Tribune quoted sources, as saying.

According to a source, the draft will be discussed by the experts again and the differences will be addressed.

"In principle, Pakistan and Uzbekistan have already agreed to sign the extradition treaty," he added.

The governments of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan say that they face threats to their security from the al Qaeda-linked Uzbek militants.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said in Tashkent on Thursday that Pakistan and the Central Asian states need to work together to combat extremism in the region, so that they can get on with the development process.

He said that as Afghanistan's northern neighbour, Uzbekistan was an important part of the Pakistan government's vision for peace.

"Both Pakistan and Uzbekistan face common threats and challenges from extremism and have a stake in Afghanistan, where the deteriorating security situation for the past three decades has destabilised the entire region," he added.

A foreign ministry official said that the engagement with Uzbekistan was part of the Pakistani effort to improve ties with the Central Asian states, so that the country had a less negative view among the inhabitants of northern Afghanistan, who are mainly ethnic Uzbeks and Tajiks.

"The idea is to win the heart and minds of the non-Pukhtun Afghans who have been hostile to Pakistan since the establishment of the Mujahideen government in Kabul after the departure of Soviet troops," he explained. (ANI)