Pakistan Open To Extraditing Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, Says Bilawal Bhutto; Lists Riders
In a major statement, former Pakistan Foreign Minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that his country would have “no objection” to extraditing terrorists like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) founder Masood Azhar to India, but attached significant conditions to the offer.
Speaking in an interview with Al Jazeera on Friday, Bhutto-Zardari suggested that such extraditions could be considered as a confidence-building measure, but only if India engages in a “comprehensive dialogue” with Pakistan and cooperates with its judicial system.
When asked specifically about extraditing Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and Azhar, linked to the 2019 Pulwama bombing, Bilawal said, “As part of a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan, where terrorism is one of the issues that we discuss, I am sure Pakistan would not be opposed to any of these things.”
However, he immediately accused India of non-cooperation, claiming that for convictions to take place in Pakistani courts, it is essential for witnesses from India to testify. “If India is willing to be cooperative in that process, I am sure there will be no hurdle in extraditing any individual of concern,” he added.
Bhutto-Zardari also claimed that Pakistan does not know the whereabouts of Masood Azhar, a UN-designated global terrorist, and suggested he might be in Afghanistan. He said Azhar would be arrested if New Delhi provides credible evidence that he is on Pakistani soil.
The offer comes amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which was followed by India’s “Operation Sindoor” targeting terror camps in Pakistan and PoK. Bhutto termed India’s renewed assertive policy against terror a “new abnormal” that does not serve the interests of either country.
India has maintained that any future talks with Pakistan will only be on the issue of cross-border terrorism and has demanded credible and verifiable action against terror masterminds operating from its soil.
