Pakistan confirmed on Friday that it had received an official request from India for the extradition of Hafiz Saeed, a Pakistani cleric and leader of the banned group Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Saeed is suspected of orchestrating terrorist attacks on Indian soil, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, effectively rejected India’s demand during a media briefing, citing the absence of a bilateral treaty to address such matters.
“Pakistan has received a request from Indian authorities for the extradition of Hafiz Saeed in connection with a money laundering case. However, it is important to clarify that there is no bilateral extradition agreement between Pakistan and India,” she stated.
This statement was in response to India’s formal extradition demand, as confirmed by Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson for India’s Foreign Ministry. “We have sent a request to the Government of Pakistan along with the relevant documents, seeking the extradition of Hafiz Saeed,” Bagchi informed the media.
Previously, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry had described reports of India’s demand as speculative. “These reports are based on speculations. We do not comment on reporting based on speculations,” Baloch commented on Thursday.
Saeed is currently serving a prison sentence in Pakistan following his conviction by Lahore’s Anti-Terrorism Court in April 2022. He was sentenced to a total of 31 years in two separate cases of illegal funding. This conviction coincided with the United Nations Security Council’s session, which reviewed measures for removing Pakistan’s name from the FATF list.