Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced on Friday that Pakistan had received India’s request for Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 incident, to be extradited. However, she stated that Pakistan and India do not have a bilateral extradition pact.
As stated by Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a statement, “Pakistan has received a request from the Indian authorities, seeking extradition of Hafiz Saeed in a so-called money laundering case.”
“It is pertinent to note that no bilateral extradition treaty exists between Pakistan and India,” she continued.
Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “The person in question (Hafiz Saeed) 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,” he further mentioned.
Notably, Saeed is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terrorist organization that is prohibited by the UN. He was the mastermind of the horrific Mumbai 26/11 attacks and is wanted in other crimes in India.
A special anti-terrorist court in Lahore, Pakistan, sentenced Muhammad Hafiz Saeed, who has been detained since July 17, 2019, to 33 years in prison for “financing terrorism.” Saeed has been in custody for various offenses since April 2022.
In the meantime, Hafiz Saeed’s political organization, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), has drawn criticism for fielding candidates in every national and provincial assembly seat in Pakistan for the upcoming general elections, which are scheduled for February 8, 2024.
According to Dawn, Talha Saeed, the son of Hafiz Saeed, would run in the National Assembly’s NA-127 constituency in Lahore. In the NA-130 election, PMML Central President Khalid Masood Sindhu is running against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Nawaz Sharif.
