India has asked Pakistan to extradite Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and a United Nations-proscribed terrorist, who is wanted by Indian probe agencies in a number of terror cases.
India also took note of reports of Saeed's son Talha Saeed standing for elections in Pakistan and said the "mainstreaming" of radical terrorist outfits in that country is nothing new and that it has been part of its state policy for a long time. Talha Saeed is considered number two in the LeT hierarchy with his father being at the helm of the terror outfit.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the request for extraditing Hafiz Saeed along with certain documents was recently sent to Islamabad.
"The person in question 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," Mr. Bagchi said in response to a question at his weekly media briefing.
The Indian High Commission in Pakistan handed over the request to Islamabad a few weeks ago, he said.
The spokesperson said India has been flagging to Pakistan the activities of Saeed and that he is wanted in India.
Asked about reports of Saeed's son Talha Saeed standing for elections in Pakistan, Bagchi said the "mainstreaming of radical terrorist outfits" in that country is nothing new.
"We have seen some reports in this regard. It is an internal affair," Mr. Bagchi said, adding that he generally does not comment on internal issues of any country.
At the same time, he said, "The mainstreaming of radical terrorist outfits in Pakistan is nothing new and has been part of its state policy for a long time."
"Such developments have serious implications for the security of the region. On our part, we will of course continue to monitor all developments that have an implication on our national security," he added.
