MEA says Pak asked to hand over Hafiz Saeed: ‘Sent supporting documents’

New Delhi: India has asked Pakistan to extradite terrorist Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the dastardly 2008 Mumbai terror attack, the Ministry of External Affairs' spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Friday. "We have conveyed a request along with relevant supporting documents to the government of Pakistan," he said at a media briefing on Friday.

"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. We have been flagging the issue of activities that he's been wanted for. This is a recent request," he said.

Bagchi also cleared New Delhi's stance on a Qatar court commuting the death sentences of 8 Indian Navy veterans.

"The interests of Indians and their family members is our foremost concern. We will be discussing the next possible steps with the legal team and the family members," he added.

Eight ex-Navy personnel, including decorated officers, were taken into custody in August 2022 and handed the death sentence in October. The government of India hasn't revealed the charges but sources told HT that they were charged with espionage. All of them worked with a company called Al Dahra in Doha.

On Thursday, MEA said Qatar's appellate court reduced their sentences.

MEA also reacted to the attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

"As we said earlier, we value the free movement of commercial shipping, which is one of the fundamental principles underpinning global commerce. We are carefully evaluating all aspects of the unfolding situation in that region. Our defence forces are taking necessary measures in this regard...but I'm not aware that India is part of any multilateral initiative or operation presently in or around the Red Sea," he said.

On shots fired at the house of the son of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir president in Canada, he said: "Our understanding of that incident in British Columbia is that it was at a private residence related to, of course, somebody who's a member of the Temple Management Committee. I understand that investigations are underway in that case. I don't think it's appropriate to comment at this stage on the motivations or details behind it."

With ANI inputs