London, Apr 13 (PTI) A 74-year-old Pakistani national who was extradited to the UK this week to face charges of murdering a policewoman more than 17 years ago, appeared in a court here on Thursday.

Piran Ditta Khan, who was formally charged for the murder of Police Constable (PC) Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford on November 18, 2005, was extradited from Pakistan on Tuesday.

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Khan appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London on Thursday wearing a blue and white Nike tracksuit jacket, according to the BBC.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it submitted an extradition warrant and authorised charges in 2006 against Khan for offences covering murder, robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.

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"A suspect wanted in connection with the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford in 2005 has been extradited to the UK from Pakistan thanks to the continued hard work of prosecutors in the CPS' Extradition and International Units,” said Joanne Jakymec, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS.

“Since Piran Ditta Khan was arrested in Pakistan in 2020, our specialist prosecutors have been working closely with our Pakistani partners to complete the legal process in the country so that he could be extradited back to England to face the allegations from almost 20 years ago,” she said.

PC Beshenivsky was gunned down while responding to a robbery at a travel agent in Bradford in November 2005.

Her death “sent a shockwave not only through West Yorkshire but throughout the world,” according to Craig Nicholls, chair of the West Yorkshire Police Federation.

Khan is charged with robbery of a quantity of cash from Mohammed Yousaf, the owner of the travel agent, the BBC report said.

He is also accused of possessing a Mac 10 machine gun, which it is alleged had been modified to fire in a burst with one pull of the trigger, and a 9mm handgun, it added.

Five men have been convicted in relation to her murder over the years.

Khan was arrested by Pakistani authorities in January 2020.

Khan's extradition was the result of collaborative work between the CPS, Pakistani authorities, West Yorkshire Police and the UK's National Crime Agency.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)