Bilawal Bhutto's extradition 'offer' sparks LeT row

NEW DELHI: Former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto 's comments on offering extradition of wanted Pakistani terrorists to India seems to have hit a raw nerve with Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed 's son Talha. Reacting sharply to remarks Bhutto made in a recent interview, Talha accused him of making an "irresponsible offer".

Instead of offering extradition of Pakistani citizens, Talha said Pakistan govt should be demanding the extradition of Indian leaders. He also questioned Bhutto's credibility, alleging that his family has a history of towing the Western and Indian narrative against Pakistan.

During the interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera on Friday, Bhutto had asserted that his country had no objection to extraditing terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to India as a "confidence-building measure".

Pakistan is ready to extradite "individuals of concern" to India provided New Delhi showed "willingness" to cooperate in the process, Bhutto had said while responding to a question about extraditing LeT chief Saeed and Jaish-e-Muhammed kingpin Masood Azhar as a gesture of good faith.

In a video issued on Sunday, Talha claimed that Bhutto's statement about his father had brought shame to Pakistan globally. "Bilawal Bhutto's suggestion to hand over his father to India, a hostile country, is unacceptable and will be opposed by us and our community," he said. Both Saeed and his son Talha are listed as global terrorists by US treasury department.

Shortly after Talha's video, Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, political offshoot of LeT/Jamaat-ud-Dawa, released a statement claiming India was involved in terrorism in Pakistan and Indian State was the mastermind of vicious terror campaigns in Pakistan and around the world.