Pak refuses to hand over ex-ISI chief to 'Bosnia war crime' tribunal on medical grounds

Islamabad, Sept 20(ANI): Pakistan has refused to hand over one of its retired army generals to the International Tribunal of Hague on medical grounds, according to a news report attributed to official sources.

The tribunal had demanded the custody of former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Javed Nasir, a retired lieutenant general, for his alleged support to Muslim fighters of Bosnia against the Serbian Army in the 1990s, despite an embargo by the United Nations, The Express Tribune reports.

The summons came when Serbian Army officials were put on trial by the International Tribunal of Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Bosnia, during which it was revealed that Nasir was actively involved in the war and had supported and provided arms to the Bosnian resistance.

The case was built on a 'confessional statement' that Nasir made in a petition filed by his legal counsel against an English daily after the newspaper published a report of his alleged involvement in embezzlement, the report said.

In a petition filed in an anti-terrorism court in Lahore on October 23, 2002, Nasir had disclosed that "despite the UN ban on supply of arms to the besieged Bosnians, he successfully airlifted sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles which turned the tide in favour of Bosnian Muslims and forced the Serbs to lift the siege, much to the annoyance of the US government".

Nasir further stated that he "became a target of US, Indian and secular-minded lobbies both inside and outside Pakistan."

Having failed to buy him off, the US government started a propaganda campaign against him and demanded his removal as ISI chief - warning that, otherwise, "Pakistan would be declared a terrorist state", he added.

The demand for Nasir's custody came when the International Criminal Tribunal put on trial former Yugoslavia Army chief General Momcilo Perisic and his deputy General Ratko Mladic for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s.

Pakistan informed the court that the former general had 'lost his memory' following a recent road incident, and was, therefore, unable to face any investigation into the matter, the report said.

While Nasir himself was not available for comment, his son, Omer Javed, said that his father was not in service during the Bosnia war in 1993-95, as he had already been "removed from the army", the report added. (ANI)