If America can hand over terrorists to us, then why can't Pakistan hand over Hafiz Saeed and Lakhvi - Indian Ambassador JP Singh

Indian Ambassador JP Singh said that terrorist Lakhvi, who was the mastermind of the Mumbai attack, is still roaming freely. Lashkar-e-Taiba chief and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed is also roaming freely. That is why we do not trust Pakistan."

 

India is becoming increasingly vocal against terrorism and is also putting pressure on Pakistan at the international level. There is now a call to form an international coalition to end terrorism. India's ambassador to Israel JP Singh stressed that 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan has been stopped, but not ended. He also demanded that Islamabad should hand over dreaded terrorists Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi to India, just as the US has handed over Mumbai terror attack mastermind Tahawwur Hussain Rana.

 

Referring to the terror incidents before India's attack, JP Singh said in an interview with Israeli TV channel i24 on Monday that the operation was initially against terrorist groups in Pakistan.

 

 

Operation Sindoor has been paused, not ended: Ambassador

Referring to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 last month, the Indian ambassador said, "The terrorists killed people on the basis of their religion. The terrorists asked about the religion of the people before killing them and 26 innocent people lost their lives." He said, "India's operation was against terrorist groups and their infrastructure, to which Pakistan responded by attacking Indian military installations."

 

On whether the ceasefire will continue and whether this is the "end of the matter" for India, the Indian ambassador replied, "The ceasefire is still on, but we have made it clear that Operation Sindoor has been paused, it is not over yet."

 

He also said, "Our war against terrorism will continue. We have set a new normal and the new normal is that we will follow an aggressive strategy. Wherever the terrorists are, we have to kill them and we have to destroy their infrastructure. So it is still not over, but the ceasefire is still intact."

Just hand over the terrorists to us: Ambassador JP Singh

Indian Ambassador to Israel Singh described India's attack on the Noor Khan base on the morning of 10 May as a game changer and said that the attack spread panic in Pakistan. Their DGMO immediately contacted his Indian counterpart for a ceasefire.

Responding to a question, JP Singh cited a long list of terrorist attacks in India from Pakistan and said that “these are largely due to two terrorist groups – Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba”. He said that Lashkar was behind the Mumbai attacks, in which many Jews were also killed, but many of its terrorist leaders are still roaming freely. Ambassador Singh said, “They should do a very simple thing – when the preamble includes goodwill and friendship, they just need to hand over these terrorists to us.”

 

Pointing out that the US had recently extradited Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India, the Indian ambassador said Islamabad could do the same. "When the US can hand over these criminals, why can't Pakistan hand them over to us? They just have to hand over Hafiz Saeed, Lakhvi, Sajid Mir and the whole case will be over," he stressed. Singh has also worked as a diplomat in Pakistan.

Ambassador JP Singh rejected Pakistan's offer to investigate the Pahalgam terror attack. He asked, "What happened to the Mumbai attack? What happened to the Pathankot airbase attack? What happened to the Pulwama attack?" He asked, "We have given them dossier after dossier, we have even given them technical information. The US has also shared evidence with them. Everything is there, but what have they done."

A coalition is needed against the supporters of terrorists

“Lakhvi, who was the mastermind of the Mumbai attack, is still roaming freely. Hafiz Saeed, the head of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the mastermind and the perpetrator of the Mumbai attack, is also roaming freely. That is why we do not trust them.”

Terming terrorism as a global threat, Indian Ambassador JP Singh called for greater cooperation among countries facing this challenge. He said, "Internationally, India, Israel and many other countries who are suffering from terrorism, we need to expand our diplomatic reach, we need to cooperate among ourselves. We need to build a coalition against terrorism and most importantly against the supporters of these terrorist organizations."