India on Friday said that it has conveyed a request to the Pakistan government to extradite Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief and the mastermind of the 26/11 terror attack Hafiz Saeed, adding that he was a UN-proscribed terrorist and wanted in numerous cases in India.
Speaking at the weekly press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “The person in question is wanted in numerous cases in India. He is also a UN-proscribed terrorist. In this regard, we have conveyed a request along with relevant supporting documents to the Government of Pakistan to extradite him to India to face trial in a particular case. We have been flagging the issue of activities, that he’s been wanted for. This is a recent request…some weeks ago.”
India’s request to Pakistan
According to diplomatic sources, the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received the official request from the Indian government, urging the initiation of the legal process for the extradition of Hafiz Saeed.
“India (as part of the procedure that it does on a regular basis) has formally requested Pakistan to extradite Hafiz Saeed to face charges in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case. India has urged the initiation of the legal process for the extradition of Hafiz Saeed,” diplomatic sources told India TV.
Notably, Saeed, who is also a United Nations-designated terrorist, has been in jail since 2019 after being convicted for several years in multiple terror finance cases along with some other leaders of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the LeT, which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
Why Hafiz Saeed has not been extradited till today
It is worth mentioning that India and Pakistan do not have an extradition treaty. However, New Delhi has previously shared detailed dossiers with Islamabad but as of now the neighbouring nation neither co-operated nor extradited the designated terrorists.
Besides, it is crucial to note that the “extradition treaty” should not be confused with the Shimla Agreement. It was signed following the India-Pakistan war in 1971. It was a formal agreement to end the hostilities between the countries.
Moreover, both countries also agreed on a comprehensive plan for peaceful relations. Summing up the accord- it is a set of guiding principles that both countries agreed to follow while managing relations with each other. Both countries agreed to respect each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and would not interfere in the internal affairs of the other country.
Recently, it was reported that the party backed by Hafiz is contesting in the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. According to a report by a Pakistani English daily, Dawn, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a party considered to be backed by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, has fielded candidates for each and every national and provincial assembly constituency.