Pak dragging feet on extraditing LeT founder 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed to India: Sources

The Indian government has officially requested Pakistan to extradite Hafiz Saeed, mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, to India and face trial in various cases registered against the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder by the National Investigation Agencies (NIA).

Government sources to News18 said a Letter of Rogatory sent to Pakistan names Hafiz Saeed as the accused in several NIA cases, including terror attacks and funding of terror groups in Kashmir.

“He is also indulging in anti-national and subversive activities in the Kashmir valley,” an official said.

“This is a Letter of Rogatory which Pakistan agencies have not replied to. We are awaiting a reply. We will follow up again,” another official said.

Sources further said before any possibility of talks between India and Pakistan, Islamabad must comply with New Delhi’s extradition request of Hafiz Saeed.

India has repeatedly demanded Hafiz Saeed’s extradition to face trial for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, but there has been complication in the process as both the countries do not have an extradition treaty.

A letter Letter Rogatory was sent to Pakistan in 2018 back in 2018 when responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, then-Minister of External Affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs V K Singh had said since India and Pakistan “do not have an Extradition Treaty,” the Indian government has sent a Letter Rogatory to the government of Pakistan for assistance in investigation in Mumbai terror attack including against Hafiz Saeed and his affiliates.

“There has been no response from Pakistan,” Singh had said.

“India has consistently called upon Pakistan for an expeditious and successful conclusion of the trial against the accused 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,” Singh had said.

A new political front of Hafiz Saeed has fielded candidates for most of the national and provincial Assembly constituencies across Pakistan for the general elections in the country scheduled for 8 February, 2024.

Hafiz Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist, has been in jail since July 2019 after being convicted for several years in multiple terror finance cases. He was sentenced for 11 years.

In December 2008, he was listed under the ‘United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committee on Al-Qaida and ISIL’ following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack the same year.

Not just in India, Hafiz Saeed has also been designated as international terrorist by the United States and the EU. The US has placed a $10 million bounty on him.

He was put under house arrest by Pakistani authorities in 2017, but was subsequently released after being cleared of charges against him, drawing strong criticism from the US and India.

Last year in April, documents showed that a court in Pakistan had sentenced Hafiz Saeed to 31 years in prison in connection with terrorism financing.

Despite court sentencing Hafiz Saeed, it is unclear whether he is in jail as some reports have claimed that he remains a free man after being released from house arrest in 2017.

Reports also have claimed earlier that Hafiz Saeed had been arrested and released several times over the past decade.

With inputs from agencies