Learnt about militant’s arrest from newspaper: Kamal

State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said he came to know from newspapers that an Indian external agency whisked off a Pakistani spy from Dhaka.

“I don’t know about the matter,” he told reporters on Wednesday at the Secretariat.

According to a ‘Times of India’ report, Zia-ur Rehman alias Waqas had been hiding in Bangladesh and was supposed to leave for Pakistan via Nepal when he was apprehended by India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

Indian security sources quoted by the newspaper said they were clueless about Waqas’ exact location. They said they had considered the possibility of Waqas hiding in Bangladesh.

Waqas was reportedly an ISI agent who oversaw the Indian Mujahideen operations in India.

Bangladesh immigration officials in Dhaka detained him and the RAW came to know of it, according to the report.

Soon, there was a request to hand over Waqas to Indian officials as he was indeed the terrorist wanted in India for a string of bomb blasts.

The 'Times of India' says Waqas was spirited away from Dhaka but does not elaborate how.

Minister Kamal said the government was looking into the matter.

“We have an extradition treaty with them (India),” he said.

Bangladesh signed a treaty with India to pave the way for exchange of convicts or on-trial criminals between the countries.

There was no official word from Dhaka on Waqas’ arrest.