Hafiz Saeed who was the mastermind behind Mumbai Attacks in 2008 has again received limelight as The Ministry of External Affairs has again asked to hand over terrorist.
As per the 28th December report of Islamabad Post, the government of India has once again sent an official request to extradite the terrorist. Islamabad Post’s sources from the foreign ministry said they had received an official request to extradite Saeed as per the law.
Hafiz Saeed is the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai Terror attacks. 166 people were killed during the attack. He is the founder of the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba. Notably, the United States of America has also designated LeT as a terror outfit.
Hafiz Saeed has a cash reward of USD one crore for his arrest. As of now, he has been lodged in prison since 2019 for funding terror activities. However, he has appeared in media reports several times that showed his arrest and sentence were only an eyewash.
Despite his claims of innocence and denial of leadership within LeT, Saeed has faced various legal challenges over the years. He was first arrested in July 2019 and received an 11-year sentence just months before Pakistan’s review by the Financial Action Task Force.
In April last year, documents showed that a Pakistani court sentenced Hafiz Saeed to 31 years in connection with terrorism financing. However, it is unclear whether he is in jail, with some reports claiming that he remains a free man after being released from house arrest in 2017. Saeed has been arrested and released several times over the past decade.
He is believed to be enjoying the hospitality of the hostile neighbour’s administration while in prison. Not to forget, his political party, Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), is contesting the February 2024 General Elections in the neighbouring country. The party has fielded candidates in all constituencies. His son Talha Saeed is also contesting the upcoming elections.
Reports suggest that Saeed uses his experience with running terror outfits to lure voters. He has been promising to bring Islamic State’s entry into Pakistan if his party wins the election.
Pak’s response to India’s request of extraditing Hafiz Saeed
Pakistan on Friday confirmed that India has sought the extradition of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, but added there was “no bilateral extradition treaty” between the two countries. The 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind and a UN-proscribed terrorist Hafiz Saeed is wanted by Indian probe agencies in several terror cases.
According to the Pakistani media, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan received a request from the Indian authorities seeking Saeed’s extradition in a “so-called money laundering case”. She added that “it is pertinent to note that no bilateral extradition treaty exists between Pakistan and India.”
New Delhi does not have an extradition pact with Islamabad. However, people familiar with the matter said extradition is possible even in the absence of such a framework pact. Hafiz Saeed, a hardline cleric, was arrested in July 2019 by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), following 23 first information reports registered against him and his close associates.
China’s say on Hafiz Saeed’s extradition request
India’s revelation of the request followed a Chinese reprimand, on Wednesday, of New Delhi’s “double standards” in dealing with terrorism. It was referring to Pakistani reports of a Baloch rebel’s surrender and his naming of India as the sponsor of the group’s activities.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said such a posture “benefits no one” and comes at the “expense of international and regional security and will only backfire”.
Reports said Mao’s comments came in response to claims by a former Pakistani militant commander, Sarfraz Bangulzai, of the banned militant organisation Baloch National Army, according to a transcript of a news conference released by the ministry.
She told reporters in Beijing: “To support and use terrorist groups and let them thrive out of one’s selfish interests at the expense of international and regional security benefits no one and will only backfire.” “China stands for strengthening counterterrorism cooperation among all countries to jointly fight all forms of terrorism,” stressed Mao.
She was responding to a question by the China Daily newspaper that India “has been secretly supporting terrorist activities in Balochistan and financing Balochistan separatist forces” as alleged by Bangulzai.
“China firmly opposes double standards on counterterrorism. To support and use terrorist groups benefits no one and will only backfire,” the ministry posted on X with a link to a media report with allegations by Bangulzai.
