Pakistan seeks extradition of ISIS leader held by Afghanistan

Pakistani citizen Aslam Farooqi was arrested by Afghan intelligence services in early April

Afghan policemen guard the gate of a Sikh place of worship in Kabul after an attack on March 25, 2020 that was claimed by ISIS. Reuters

Pakistan has asked Afghanistan to extradite a leader in the local branch of ISIS who was arrested in an Afghan intelligence operation in southern Afghanistan earlier this month.

Aslam Farooqi is a Pakistani national wanted in connection with attacks claimed by ISIS in Pakistan. The Afghan government accuses Farooqi of involvement in last month’s attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul on a Sikh house of worship that killed 25 worshipers.

ISIS claimed the attack, saying it was carried out by Indian national Abu Khalid Al-Hindi in revenge for Indian military action in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

A single gunman rampaged through the Sikh temple on March 25, exploding grenades and firing at worshipers.

There was no immediate response from Afghanistan.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan, Atif Mashal, had been summoned and told of Pakistan's worries about the activities of the ISIS affiliate known as ISIS-Khorazan, headquartered in the eastern Afghan region bordering Pakistan.

"Since Aslam Farooqi was involved in anti-Pakistan activities in Afghanistan, he should be handed over to Pakistan for further investigations,” the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

Farooqi, whose real name is Abdullah Orakzai, was arrested last weekend along with 19 other ISIS members, according to Afghanistan's intelligence agency.

The Afghan-based ISIS affiliate has taken credit for attacks in Pakistan, including one in January in the south-western Balochistan provincial capital of Quetta that killed 15 worshipers.

Afghan and American officials have said in recent months that the ISIS affiliate has been weakened as a result of relentless US bombing raids in eastern Afghanistan as well as military operations by the Afghan National Security Forces and attacks by their rivals, Taliban insurgents.

In the months leading up to Washington's peace deal with the Taliban signed in February, US officials said a key component of the agreement was a promise by the Taliban to aid in the fight against ISIS, seen as the greatest threat to US national security emanating from Afghanistan.

Still, the US-Taliban peace deal has had a rocky beginning. Political wrangling in Kabul between President Ashraf Ghani and his rival in last year's disputed presidential polls, Abdullah Abdullah, has frustrated Washington, which has threatened to withdraw $1 billion in aid if they do not find a power-sharing deal. Their bickering has delayed the next critical step in the deal, which calls for intra-Afghan negotiations between Kabul leaders, many of whom are linked to warlords and the Taliban.

Delays in completing a prisoner release as laid out in the US-Taliban deal have further frustrated efforts to start the intra-Afghan negotiations.

However, the US and Nato began withdrawing forces and if the Taliban keep their promise to fight terrorism the US will withdraw all its forces over 14 months from the signing of the deal.