ISLAMABAD: Islamabad officially rejected India’s plea for the extradition of Hafiz Saeed, the chief of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), following India’s formal request for Islamabad to hand him over in a money laundering case.
The Foreign Office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, clarified that there is no bilateral extradition treaty between Pakistan and India.
Currently serving a jail term for convictions related to terror financing, Saeed faces sentences ranging from over 15 to 31 years.
Despite India’s accusations linking him to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Saeed denies any involvement.
Saeed’s arrest in 2019 coincided with Pakistan’s efforts to exit the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list, which highlights countries with deficiencies in anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and proliferation financing systems.
While the Indian External Affairs Ministry, represented by spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, reiterated their extradition request backed by relevant documentation, they acknowledged the absence of an extradition treaty with Islamabad.
India’s disclosure of the request followed Chinese criticism of their perceived “double standards” in combatting terrorism. This rebuke came after reports of a Baloch rebel implicating India as the sponsor of their group’s actions. Chinese authorities emphasized that supporting and leveraging terrorist factions for self-interest harms international and regional security and ultimately rebounds negatively.
This geopolitical interplay unveils the complexities of extradition requests, intertwining with wider international relations and security concerns among neighboring nations.
