If US can extradite terrorists to India, Pakistan can also give us Hafiz Saeed, Lakhvi: Indian envoy
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Jerusalem (PTI): Pakistan should hand over key terrorists Hafiz Saeed, Sajid Mir, and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi to India, just like the US did with one of the masterminds of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, India's Ambassador to Israel J P Singh has said.
Contending that terrorism is a global menace, Singh also called for the formation of an international coalition against it.
In an interview with Israeli TV channel i24 on Monday, Singh stressed that India's Operation Sindoor against Pakistan is "paused" and "not over".
Narrating the incidents leading up to India's offensive, Sing said that the operation was against terror groups in Pakistan.
"The terrorists killed people based on their religion. They asked people about their religion before killing them, and 26 innocent lives were lost," the Indian ambassador said on the Pahalgam attack of April 22.
"India's operation was against terror groups and their infrastructure to which Pakistan responded by attacking India's military installations", he emphasised.
Citing a long list of terror attacks in India that originated from Pakistan, Singh said that the "root cause is these two groups — Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba".
The leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was behind the Mumbai attack, in which several Jews were also killed, continue to roam free, he noted.
"They need to do a very simple thing - when the preamble includes goodwill and friendship, they just need to hand over these terrorists to us," the envoy stressed.
Pointing out that the United States recently extradited Rana, who was involved in the Mumbai attack, the diplomat, who has also served in Pakistan in the past, said that Islamabad could also do the same.
"When the US can hand over these culprits, why can't Pakistan hand over? They have to simply hand over Hafeez Saeed, Lakhvi, Sajid Mir, and things will be over", he emphasised.
Asked if the understanding reached between the two nations is the 'end of the matter' for India, Singh responded by saying that "the ceasefire is still holding on, but we have made it very clear that Operation Sindoor is paused, it's not yet over".
India carried out precision strikes under 'Operation Sindoor' on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
"The fight against terrorism will continue. We have set a new normal, and the new normal is that we will follow an offensive strategy. Wherever terrorists are, we have to kill those terrorists and destroy their infrastructure. So it is still not over, but as we speak, the ceasefire is still intact," Singh asserted.
Describing India's attack on Pakistan's Nur Khan base on May 10 as a game changer, Singh said that it created panic in Pakistan and their Director General of Military Operation (DGMO) reached out to their Indian counterpart seeking a ceasefire.
On the question of suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) that Pakistan has described as "an act of war", the Indian envoy said that the two key words that guided the treaty were never honoured, and India on the contrary, was always battling against terror attacks emanating from Pakistan.
"IWT was signed in 1960, and the preamble of the treaty includes two key words - goodwill and friendship....Over the past so many years, what we have seen (is that) we were allowing water to flow, and what was Pakistan doing - they were allowing terror (attacks) to come on the Indian side," Singh noted.
"There was a lot of frustration among people that this could not go on like this. Our Prime Minister said that blood and water cannot flow together and that is the reason that we decided to put this IWT in abeyance," he added.
"Terror must stop", the Indian ambassador said.
He asserted that for a treaty like this to be operational, Pakistan must stop cross-border terrorism.
"While IWT is in abeyance, another IWT is operational - Operation Sindoor is India’s War Against Terrorism," he said.
On Pakistan's offer to investigate the Pahalgam attack, Singh dismissed it, describing it as a deflection strategy.
“What has happened to the Mumbai attack? What has happened to the Pathankot air base attack? What has happened to the Pulwama attack?” he questioned.
“We have given them dossiers after dossiers — we have given them technical inputs. America has shared with them evidence. Everything is there, but what have they done?” he asked.
“Lakhvi, who was the main planner of the Mumbai attack, is still roaming freely. Hafiz Saeed, the head of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the planner and executioner of the Mumbai attack, is roaming freely. So we can't believe them,” Singh said.
Contending that terrorism is a global menace, the Indian envoy called for greater cooperation among the countries faced with the challenge.
"At an international level, all those countries, including India, Israel and many other countries that face the brunt of terrorism, we need to expand our diplomatic reach, we need to cooperate, we need to form a coalition against terrorism and most importantly against the supporters of these terrorist groups" he proposed.
He concluded by saying that "our prime minister has made it very clear — very clear — that we have zero tolerance on terrorism. We are not going to accept this cross-border terrorism".
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
