Pakistani Man Extradited to Britain Over Deadly 2002 Yorkshire Fire

A Pakistani man was extradited to the United Kingdom on Tuesday where he will be tried for murder in connection with a 2002 fire that killed eight members of one family, the West Yorkshire Police said.

Shahid Mohammed was arrested in the northern garrison city of Rawalpindi in 2015 after nearly 13 years on the run and is scheduled to appear at the Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Mohammed is wanted over a fire in Birkby, a suburb of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, that killed eight members of the Chishti family including five children.

He has been held by Pakistani authorities since 2015, when he was arrested after a joint operation launched by British and Pakistani authorities, the West Yorkshire Police said in a statement.

“At the centre of this investigation is the Chishti family, who lost eight members of their family during the fatal house fire and have shown such dignity since the tragedy occurred in 2002,” detective Nick Wallen said.

Pakistan’s interior ministry did not respond to request for comment.

Mohammed is the second man to be extradited by Pakistan to Britain in the past 10 years after Mohammed Zubair in 2016, who was wanted in connection with a double murder in Bradford in 2011.

By Saad Sayeed – Reuters