India sends request to Pakistan to extradite 26/11 attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindamn Bagchi on Friday said the government has sent a request to Pakistan for the extradition of 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed to India.
Bagchi said this was a recent request to Pakistan to hand over the terrorist to face trial in the country and that Saeed is wanted in numerous cases in India.
Saeed has been listed as one of India’s most wanted terrorists and carries a $10 million bounty placed by the US for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The attacks, orchestrated on November 26 2008 over the course of four days, killed as many as 166 people and injured 300.
Hafiz Saeed is also a UN-proscribed terrorist, Bagchi mentioned addressing a press briefing earlier today.
“We have conveyed a request along with relevant supporting documents to the Government of Pakistan to extradite him to extradite him to India to face trial in a particular case,” Bagchi said.
The MEA official stated that the government has been flagging the issue of activities that Hafiz Saeed has been wanted for to the Pakistani government.
On Hafiz Saeed’s son fighting elections in Pakistan
The press briefing comes amid a recent development that Hafiz Saeed-backed Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) will contest the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. Notably, Hafiz Saeed’s son Talha Saeed is also in the run and will contest the polls from the National Assembly’s constituency NA-127, Lahore.
Addressing this, Bagchi said the pattern of “radical elements participating in elections” in Pakistan was not new.
“Wouldn’t want to comment on election processes in other countries. However, radical elements participating in elections, and mainstreaming of radical, extremist elements is not new in Pakistan,” Arindam Bagchi said.
“Such developments have serious implications for the security of our region. On our part, we will, of course, continue to monitor all developments that have an implication on our national security,” he added.
Talha Saeed is considered at higher ranks in Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), second only to his father. Talha, like his father, is a designated terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
On Relief for 8 Indian Navy veterans by Qatari court
As a Qatar court reduced the death sentences awarded to eight former Indian Navy personnel in connection with an alleged case of espionage, Bagchi said the government does not have the entire details of the order.
“We would like to go through the judgement first. We will discuss with our legal team and then speak about it, as it is a sensitive issue we will discuss with the families of the sailors,” he said.
The relief to former navy personnel came weeks after Qatar’s Court of First Instance accepted an appeal filed by the Indian government against the death sentence awarded to them. The Indian nationals, who worked with a private company, Al Dahra, were arrested in August last year reportedly in an alleged case of espionage.