Meenakshi Lekhi said- Hafiz Saeed is in the international list of terrorists, but Pakistan never reacted on this.
New Delhi: Union Minister of State Meenakshi Lekhi on Saturday emphasized that despite Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed being on the international list of terrorists, Pakistan never reacted.
On Pakistan’s extradition request to hand over 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi asserted that Hafiz Saeed was behind many incidents in India.
He told ANI, “Everyone knows that Hafiz Saeed was behind the Mumbai attacks. Many incidents have happened in India and Hafiz Saeed was behind them too.”
He said, “India has maintained it since the beginning and it is also in the international list of terrorists, but despite this Pakistan has never reacted to it.”
Lekhi further told ANI that India has sent a request to the Pakistan government along with relevant supporting documents to extradite him to India.
“But, now once again, we have sent a request to the Pakistan government with relevant supporting documents to extradite him to India (to face trial in a particular case),” he said.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said India had requested the Pakistani government regarding the extradition of 26/11 attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed to India to face trial in a special case.
This comes after Hafiz Saeed’s political wing Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) fielded candidates for every national and provincial assembly constituency across Pakistan for the upcoming general elections to be held on February 8, 2024.
Hafiz Saeed’s son Talha Saeed is also going to contest from National Assembly constituency NA-127, Lahore, while PMML central president Khalid Masood Sindhu is contesting from NA-130 against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo and former PM Nawaz Sharif. are fighting.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on allowing radical organizations, including Hafiz Saeed’s son, to contest elections in Pakistan Said that Pakistan is mainstreaming “radical organizations” as a part of its state policy, he said. India is continuously monitoring the situation. “Serious security implications” for regional security.
Addressing the weekly briefing, Bagchi said, “The person concerned (Hafiz Saeed) is wanted in several cases in India. He is also a terrorist banned by the United Nations. In this regard, we have sent a request along with relevant supporting documents.” The Government of Pakistan extradited him to India to face trial in a special case.
Muhammad Hafeez Saeed, who has been in jail since July 17, 2019 on other charges, was sentenced to 33 years in prison for “terrorism financing” by a special anti-terrorism court in Lahore, Pakistan in April 2022.
Despite being designated a terrorist by the United Nations and the European Union in the 2000s, Saeed was neither charged nor extradited for nearly two decades.
Saeed was designated a terrorist by the United Nations Security Council in December 2008.
