List of top fugitives in Pakistan being revised: Duggal

Jalandhar, Dec 5 (UNI) Union Home Secretary V K Duggal today said the list of top fugitives wanted by police in various cases, given to Pakistan for their extradition is being revised.

Talking to reporters here today, Mr Duggal also informed that India favoured signing of an extradition treaty with Pakistan and felt such a treaty could have facilitated extradition of top fugitives, including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Mr Duggal said at present India did not have an extradition treaty with the neighbouring country but it wanted to have one.

''Our government during high level meetings had conveyed to its Pakistani counterpart that extradition treaty should be there between the two neighbours,'' he said.

The home secretary said the issue of handing over of top 20 fugitives, including underworld Don Dawood Ibrahim was already alive at different levels between the two countries.

The issue is already taken up at various level meetings and soon a meeting of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Pakistani agency Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would be held to discuss a way out for handing over of these fugitives to India for trial.

Mr Duggal also expressed satisfaction over the progress in ongoing peace process and Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) between the two countries and reiterated Manmohan Singh government's resolve to strenthen peace and friendship with the neighbour.

Mr Duggal, however, said the CBMs would not come in the way of ''our security agencies to ensure their duty of preserving internal security.'' He said while advancing with CBMs the Indian Government would ''not give any let up in its security alert and strictness.'' Mr Duggal arrived here this afternoon to inaugurate the 51st Punjab Police Games at the PAP Stadium here.

He would also hold meetings at Chandigarh tomorrow to review general internal security, law and order situation and progress of various projects.

UNI SS RP VC1950