NEW DELHI: The Indian government recently again asked
Pakistan
in a formal communication to extradite
Lashkar-e-Taiba
chief and
Mumbai attacks
mastermind
Hafiz Saeed
to India.
India doesn’t have an
extradition treaty
with Pakistan and Islamabad has done little to bring Saeed to justice. However, India has in the past too sent a letter rogatory to Pakistan for assistance in the investigation in Mumbai terror attacks, including against Saeed and his associates. Pakistan has never responded.
According to sources, by officially seeking Saeed’s extradition, the government is also complying with an Indian court’s order earlier calling for the LeT chief to be either prosecuted in Pakistan or to be sent to India to face justice.
Shortly after the Mumbai attacks, in December 2008, Saeed was listed at the UN 1267/1989 al-Qaida Sanctions Committee as an individual associated with the al-Qaida terrorist organisation and, thus, subject to international sanctions. The US announced a reward of $10 million for information about Saeed.
Asked about India’s request for Saeed’s extradition, the Pakistani foreign ministry chose not to comment, only saying the question was based on “speculative reporting’’.
India has repeatedly called upon Pakistan for a successful conclusion of the trial against Mumbai attack accused like Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi in Pakistan. “It has been conveyed that the conspiracy for the Mumbai
terror attack
took place in Pakistan and, therefore, it is the responsibility of Pakistan to present all necessary evidences to the trial court,’’ the government had told Parliament earlier.
A Pakistani court had ordered a jail term of 31 years for Saeed last year on charges of terror financing. The court’s order came amid efforts by the then Pakistan government to avoid blacklisting by the global terror watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
English (US) ·