Top Story

  Editorial

  Metro

  Kashmir

  Business

  Sports

    Articles

  Societal

  Health

  Cartoon

AS a follow-up of prolonged interaction — spanning over almost 14 years — Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates eventually singed on Monday an extradition treaty, which is bound to result into a far-fetched impact.

The accord, which was marked by the Minister for state for Law, and Justice and his UAE counterpart is aimed at fruitful cooperation in judicial and legal matters to regulate judicial and extra judicial documents, taking evidence and recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.

As per agreement, Contracting State may request the other Contracting State to obtain evidence or to perform some other judicial action on behalf of the Requesting state, and each of the contracting State shall recognize Judgments passed by the courts of the other Contracting State in civil, commercial and personal matters, and shall enforce them within its territory if such judgments are final and enforceable — in line with the essence of the International Law in respect of Jurisdiction — which are applicable in the territory of the Requested States. Preamble of the Treaty — catalogued — its’ provisions, overtly provides for repatriation of people involved in translational crimes.

With a few reservations — in the silhouette of the familiarities of the past — we feel optimistic that the treaty — inked after 14 years of negotiations — will expectantly usher in a new era in relations between the two countries, who are wrapped in marvellous bonds of Muslim brotherhood, affinity and above-all, blessed with proverbial perceptions on diverse issues of common disquiet, camouflaging the horizons of the global Atlas.

Via such a course, there may be a few people drawn in some sorts of translational crimes — hailing to both the countries — that are sought in the other. With such a pact, the repatriation — of such souls — would turn possible. Well-acquainted to every realm, the spirit and modus operandai of such an arrangement is clearly manifested as part of the UN charter.

The world body’s ‘Combating Transitional Organized Crime through Extradition’ text elucidates the basic concept, disposition of offences, grounds and even the extradition procedure, as it is authenticated by the Vienna Conventions of 1988 and Palermo Conventions of 2000 which enlist the natures of crime, alike criminal acts to the financial offences and slipshod.

For this the global law evidently beams provisions for an operation — both on bilateral and multilateral — basis. This law clearly elaborates that ‘the requested state party may take the person concerned into custody or take other appropriate measures to ensure his presence at the extradition proceedings — with three provisos, like; subject to the provision of its domestic law and its extradition treaties; if the circumstances so warrant and are urgent and finally; at the request of the requesting party.

Simultaneously, the Conventions solicit the characteristics of offenders, categorized as; No extradition of [one’s] own nationals; Human rights exceptions and lastly; the stipulation of a clause vis-à-vis Asylum. Taking into account, the benefits of the across-the-board provisions, nations do enter into such indentures, prima facie to cage the onslaught of the loafers and felonious — yet by n’ large — without any pragmatic upshot.

Consequently — despite subsistence of such treaties — things do not take shape, as they are ought to be. Virtually, filled advantages are being accumulated in a zestful style by the possible affectees — in the arena of multiple segments, now-a-days dwelling, far-away from their ancestral abodes — taking one shield of the law or the other.

Now, when the axiom of a global village has — in a way — converged the orbit into an elfin vicinity, dominated by the a solitary diktat almost on the delineate of the conservatives n’ conformists, who used the might in a style which matched their atypical aspires, the execution of the extradition treaties — are supposed to be free of all types of risks n’ hazards. Yet the contrariness by some — exclusively those deemed — as the ‘lucid, lucent and translucent sovereigns’ annul n’ quash the basic epitome n’ epithet of such concords, slicing n’ splintering such documents — nothing except a tattered piece of a manuscript.

Such an outlook makes apparent the veracity that such realms are more horizontal towards individuals — rather than the states. Nonetheless, with such a mind-set of their ‘peers of the realm’ n’ benefactors — such ‘persons in exile’ — in the long-run, not only develop into ‘favorites’ with fabulous feelings of being credible n’ ascribed with sanctuary at an alien land — they also gyrate as ‘idols’ at their familial soils.

Rationally, this phenomenon, if persists would make felonies — even acts of terrorism — to swell unabated, but would also evaporate the bona fide spirit of the universal treaties like extradition. Thus its is the apposite time for the ‘civilized world’ to reset its priorities on the asylum-seekers by making them logical — so as to ensure that no ‘gratis’ is granted to the such sets of ‘hobos’ — in their own interest in meticulous and the world in broad spectrum.

People, faced with a vision — based on likely qualms on their political potentials n’ vistas at home, by all means must be taken care of with optimal zest — yet in a logical way — but all those, accountable for indefensible offences, are ought to be brought into the swaddle of the law — at all costs.

Such a standpoint, if n’ when espoused would also make fade away, feelings — currently set in motion — in multiple vicinities of the orb that ‘some hefty powers’ are abusing the articles of extradition ‘to make best use’ to the milieu which suits their ‘seek or ache’ for targeting any area — at their sweet will — as n’ when they would like to do so — with one gambit or the other.

While adoring the Pakistan-UAE accord, we hope that all the preceding treaties on this critical n’ crucial topic — whether hallmarked by bilateralism or multilateralism — between all nations of the world shall be put into force, at-once — of-course without posing perils to the legitimate and genuine-ones, irrespective of ones’ faith, gender, color, creed, cast or credo — n’ with only a singular parameter — indexed in the lexicon with the fabulous word — ‘ equilibrium’, the upright and elegant emblem, bestowed by the Nature on the humankind.

© 2004 Mumtaz Hamid Rao - Pakistan Times

 Editorials' Archives