The Sindh High Court (SHC) asked the government on Wednesday to explain why a Pakistani citizen, suspected of having links with Al Qaeda, had been handed over to the United States, a lawyer said. Pakistan has arrested and handed over about 700 foreign Al Qaeda suspects to US authorities after the September 11 attacks on the US. But the government says no Pakistanis have been handed over to US authorities. The suspect, Majid Khan, was arrested in Karachi in March 2003 and later sent to the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said lawyer Nisar Mujahid, who represents Khan’s wife. Mujahid said US authorities suspected Khan of having links with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks. The SHC, considering a petition filed by Khan’s wife, ordered authorities to explain why he had been handed over to foreign authorities. “The court has asked the government to respond by January 11 and also explain what measures were being taken to bring him back,” Mujahid said. He said Khan’s family heard from him for the first time since 2003 in November, when he sent a greeting card from Guantanamo for Eid-ul-Fitr via the International Committee of the Red Cross.
A senior government security official confirmed that Khan was in Guantanamo Bay but said it was still the governmentÂ’s position that it had not handed over any Pakistanis to the US.