Pakistan to Hand Back Bali Bombing Suspect to Indonesia
Xinua News Agency
Pakistani authorities will hand back the alleged mastermind of Bali bombing Umar Patek to Indonesia later on Wednesday, reported local Urdu TV channel Geo.
Patek, 41, is suspected as the field coordinator and planner of the suicide bombings in two nightclubs in Bali in 2002 that killed 202 people, most of whom are Australian holiday makers.
He was arrested in January 2011 at the city of Abbottabad where the U.S. army killed Osama bin Laden on May 2. There is no official confirmation about the extradition of Omar Patek yet.
Indonesian authorities had reportedly sought extradition of the suspect to uncover Patek’s network in the country. Pakistan had reportedly invited Indonesian investigators to identify and question the suspect days after his arrest was confirmed.
Patek, alias Abu Syeikh or Umar Arab, escaped from Indonesia in 2003. The U.S. government had put one million U.S. dollars bounty on his head. He has also been included in the United Nations’ consolidated list.
He was captured by the Pakistani security authorities after a decade of escape. Since his arrest the Indonesian police had reportedly been negotiating with the government of Pakistan for bringing back one of the most wanted militants in Southeast Asia.
Indonesian officials said that they had been involved in discussions with Pakistani authorities for extradition of Patek over the past few months. Patek is a suspected member of al-Qaida-linked Southeast Asian network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
JI has been accused of carrying out a series of major terrorist strikes in Indonesia that killed over 250 people from 2000 to 2009.
Pakistanis for Peace 
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