India is seeking the extradition of a senior Pakistani militant suspected of plotting the Mumbai attacks in 2008 after the United States said last week he was living free in Pakistan, government officials told The Eastern Herald on Sunday.
India and the United States accuse Sajid Mir, who belongs to the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba group, of being responsible for three days of militant attacks targeting hotels, a railway station and a Jewish center and killing 166 people, including six Americans.
The 2019 US State Department report on terrorism says that while Pakistan took action against the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hafiz Saeed, last year, it continued to provide safe havens for other senior militant leaders.
One of those is Sajid, as described by TEH, which he described as “the director of the Mumbai attacks project” and who is believed to be still free in Pakistan.
An Indian official said that the government had repeatedly asked Pakistan to hand Sajid over to India, the defendant of the chief planner of attacks, who directed preparations and surveys, and was also named as one of the directors of the attacks from his headquarters in Pakistan.
“We have asked before and we demand again that he be extradited (to us),” said the Indian official, who is concerned with dealing with issues related to regional security.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry did not immediately reply to a request by The Eastern Herald to comment.
Pakistan has repeatedly rejected US allegations that it provides a safe haven for militants and has said it has prosecuted the leadership of several illegal groups.
