India has requested Pakistan to extradite Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, who is wanted in the country for various terror attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai terror strikes.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the request along with certain documents seeking the terrorist's extradition was sent to Islamabad recently. While addressing a press briefing, Bagchi said Saeed is wanted in numerous cases in India. "We have conveyed request along with relevant...documents to the Government of Pakistan to extradite him to India to face trial in a particular case," he added.
Saeed, 71, was sentenced to 33 years in jail by a Pakistan court after being convicted in two cases of terror financing in April last year. The case was filed by Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department, reported NDTV. However, since 2019, Saeed has been in jail after being convicted for several years in multiple terror finance cases.
Saeed is a terrorist proscribed by the United Nations.
India's move comes, reportedly, amid a recent development that Hafiz Saeed-backed by Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) will contest the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. Saeed's son Talha Saeed is also in the run and will contest the polls from the National Assembly's constituency NA-127, Lahore.
The United States has placed a USD 10 million reward for any information on Saeed. Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) is the front organisation for LeT, which is behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
