Ex-Macedonian minister nabbed for staging Pakistanis’ murder
Pakistan Times Monitoring Desk

SCOPJE (Macedonia): Police in Croatia have arrested a former Macedonian minister over allegations he ordered the murders of seven Pakistani immigrants in March 2002.

At the time of the deaths, then-Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski claimed the men were militants. But prosecutors say the men were innocent and their deaths were staged at Macedonian border in an attempt to make Macedonia appear active in the US-led war on terror.

Investigations initiated after protest by the government of Pakistan and human rights bodies held the then-Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski responsible for the incident and an arrest warrant was issued by the Macedonian authorities.

Boskovski, who also has Croatian citizenship, was arrested in Bale village in Croatia's north-west on Tuesday.

Earlier, detention set for former Macedonian interior minister Boskovski, which expires today at 1900 hours, has been extended for another 72 hours, Croatian Agency Hina quoted Thursday sources at Pula's County Court.

Court president Aldo Radolovic said the court's investigating judge would rule tomorrow on a request for an investigation of Boskovski and a proposal for detention made by the Istria County Prosecutor's Office.●