Edited by Deepali Verma
The Bharatiya government has taken a major step by officially requesting Pakistan to extradite the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who also happens to be a mastermind of the 26/11 terror attack, Hafiz Saeed. The diplomatic sources have revealed that the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received the official request from the Bhartiya government, urging them to initiate the legal process for the extradition of Hafiz Saeed.
“Bharat has formally requested Pakistan to extradite Hafiz Saeed to face charges in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case while urging the initiation of the legal process for the extradition of Hafiz Saeed,” diplomatic sources told India TV.
The same has been confirmed by the Pakistan-based news outlet namely the Islamabad Post.
Saeed is also a designated United Nations terrorist and 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). JuD led by Saeed is the front organisation for the LeT which holds the responsibility for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
Why has Hafiz Saeed not been extradited till today
It is worthy of mentioning that Bharat and Pakistan lack an extradition treaty. However, New Delhi has previously shared detailed dossiers with Islamabad but till now the neighbouring nation have neither co-operated nor extradited the designated terrorists.
It becomes crucial to note that the “extradition treaty” must not be confused with the Shimla Agreement which was signed following the India-Pakistan war in 1971 to end the hostilities between the countries. Moreover, both countries also shook hands on a comprehensive plan for peaceful relations.
Hafiz’s role in upcoming Pakistan elections
The party backed by Hafiz recently came to light as it is contesting in the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. As per the report by a Pakistani English daily, Dawn, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a party said to be backed by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, has fielded candidates for each and every national and provincial assembly constituency.
The Pakistan media reports also claim that Hafiz’s son Talha Saeed is also on the run. There are media claims of Talha contesting from the National Assembly’s constituency NA-127, Lahore.
