LATEST NEWS: CPS continuing to work to have suspected police officer killer extradited from Pakistan to UK

IT is two years since a 71-year-old man was arrested in Pakistan in relation to the murder of police officer Sharon Beshenivsky, who died just over 16 years ago.

But there has seemingly been no movement on Piran Ditta Khan, who is now believed to be 72, being extradited to the UK or any charges put to him since then.

Khan - a former bouncer - was detained in Pakistan on January 6, 2020 on suspicion of the murder of Sharon Beshenivsky.

West Yorkshire Police announced the news exactly two years ago on this day.

PC Sharon Beshenivsky was killed on November 18, 2005, while responding to a bungled armed robbery at Universal Travel in Morley Street, Bradford.

The 38-year-old mother of three, with two stepchildren, was a probationer and had only worked in the role for nine months when she was fatally shot.

She was only the second policewoman to be killed on duty in the UK and it came on her youngest daughter Lydia's fourth birthday.

Sharon Beshenivsky's colleague, PC Teresa Millburn, was also shot back in 2005.

But she survived and later gave evidence at the trial of members of the armed gang who were charged with being involved in the murder.

Six men were later jailed at Newcastle Crown Court, while Khan, who was suspected of being the gang organiser, had fled abroad.

In 2016, West Yorkshire Police issued a fresh appeal to find him, as he remained at large, despite a £20,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Federation, Brian Booth, said at the time of the arrest in 2020 - four years after that appeal - that it delighted the force, after a hunt for justice across two decades.

He said his colleagues would be "watching closely the wheels of justice turning" in the case.

Those wheels have seemingly come to a juddering halt in the past year though.

Khan appeared in an Islamabad court on January 8, 2020 where his extradition was discussed.

The next update after that came on January 10, 2021, when The Mirror reported Khan was due to appear at a court in Islamabad the day after (January 11).

The report stated Khan had been in custody ever since his arrest and the evidence against him was expected to be heard during that appearance, with the suspect continuing to fight his extradition.   

Since then, it has been radio silence, until July 2021 when West Yorkshire Police issued a statement, which implied the case is at a stage where a new court date is needed to be set, with no major further developments.

Detective Superintendent Mark Swift from West Yorkshire Police’s Protective Services (Crime), said last summer: “Piran Ditta Khan, aged 72, was arrested in January 2020 by Pakistani police and there is an ongoing judicial process in that country.

“No new court date has been set and so we will not be commenting further at this stage until proceedings are at an end.”

The T&A asked West Yorkshire Police if there had been any further update, exactly two years on from when the force announced Khan's arrest.

The case is still in the same position, according to a spokesperson.

The T&A also contacted the Crown Prosecution Service, but is yet to receive a comment.