Is Pak seeking secret extradition of Zardari ’shoe’ attacker?

LAHORE - Pakistan is reportedly seeking the extradition of Shamim Khan, the who allegedly hurled a shoe at President Asif Ali Zardari during a party rally in Brimingham earlier this month.

According to sources, the interior ministry has provided “criminal records” of Shamim to the British authorities, and asked them to hand him over to Pakistan for further action.

“Khan, a resident of Palai Gala, Sehnsa tehsil (occupied Kashmir), has been declared a proclaimed offender in an attempted murder case. In 1993, he injured his opponent and inspector Shadab over an enmity and then managed to flee to UK,” The Dawn quoted sources, as saying.

Earlier, it was reported that it was one of a disgruntled Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) who had hurled the shoe at Zardari, but further investigations have revealed that Shamim had never been associated with the PPP.

“It has been transpired that Khan had never been a PPP worker and he entered the place along with Lord Nazir Ahmed,” a PPP leader said.

The leader, who refused to be named, added that now Shamin claims to be a close associate of PML-N’s (occupied) Kashmir chapter president Raja Farooq Haider.

However, Haider has denied any relation with the attacker.

“I would like to ask those who portrayed Khan as a ‘thorough gentleman’ to look into these facts,” Haider said.

Meanwhile, Zardari’s spokesnman, Farhatullah Babar, insisted that no shoe hurling incident took place during Zardari’s rally.

“Therefore there is no question of extradition of anyone,” Babar said. (ANI)