NYC attack: IHC maintains stay order on extradition of US citizen

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday stayed extradition of a US citizen of Pakistani origin to America for allegedly planning an attack in New York in connivance with a militant group, ARY News reported.

The court ordered that Haroon, who is under investigation, must not be extradited until next hearing. The hearing of the case was conducted by a single-member bench comprising Mohsin Akhtar Kiani.

Justice Kiani said the court would announce its verdict once the defence lawyer completes his argument in the case.

Talha Haroon is incarcerated in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for more than a year. He had filed a bail plea through his lawyer at the Islamabad High Court. His lawyer Idrees Ashraf had been representing him in the court, but today his assistant lawyer turned up.

The hearing was adjourned until February 28.

Haroon, 19, was arrested in Pakistan in 2016 after U.S. authorities identified him as one of three men, along with a Canadian citizen and a man from the Philippines, planning attacks on Manhattan’s Times Square and the city’s subway.

His lawyer, during one of the previous hearings, had termed the US investigation a sting operation carried out by an investigating officer motivated by career advancement.

“The FBI projected this as a high-level story, but these people don’t have the qualifications to kill a monkey,” said the lawyer, Idrees Ashraf.

Ashraf said his client was only in contact with the investigating officer but never directly spoke with the co-accused, raising serious doubts about the nature of the investigation.

“According to the criminal complaint, the FBI agent communicated with Talha online, and has said he was active in IS, but no proof of militant links has been provided,” Ashraf added.

Reuters adds: One of the accused men, 19-year-old Canadian citizen Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, has been in U.S. custody since May 2016. He pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in October 2016, prosecutors said.

The third accused, 37-year old Russel Salic, was arrested in the Philippines in April, according to the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim.

The US prosecutors said they expect Haroon and Salic to be extradited to face the charges, which include conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism and to support a terrorist organization.