Islamabad seeks Daesh-Khorasan leader handover

KABUL (Pajhwok): Islamabad on Thursday demanded Kabul hand over Islamic State (IS) group leader, who was arrested by Afghan authorities last week, saying the detainee was involved in anti-Pakistani activities.

A Foreign Office statement said the Afghanistan was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey Pakistan’s views with regard to the arrest of Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) leader Farooqi, which was announced on April 5.

It was emphasised that Pakistan had been expressing its concerns about the activities of ISIS-K, "which were clearly detrimental to Pakistan", the FO spokesperson said, adding that Islamabad's position in this regard was being regularly shared with the Afghan government and others concerned.

"It was underscored to the ambassador that since Aslam Farooqi was involved in anti-Pakistan activities in Afghanistan, he should be handed over to Pakistan for further investigations," the statement said.

The FO underlined during the meeting that the two countries should "coordinate actions against the menace of terrorism, including through established mechanisms", it added.

Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) had arrested Farooqi, also known as Abdullah Orakzai, saying he was the mastermind of a recent attack on a gurdwara in Afghanistan.

At least 25 people were killed in the attack on the Sikh temple in Kabul on March 25 where worshippers were offering morning prayers. The attack had been claimed by IS.

Pakistan had earlier this week rejected reports circulating in the Indian media that linked Pakistan's security agencies to the attack on the gurdwara.

pr/ma