Press Briefings

EAM’s response to a question on bringing terrorists to justice

16/01/2009

In response to a question about extradition of terrorists to India and bringing them to justice, the External Affairs Minister said:

We have never given up the demand that perpetrators of terror acts should be extradited to India. There is no question of that or climb down.

Major terrorist acts have been committed in India. These were planned and launched from Pakistan. Only full investigations which are transparent and verifiable in Pakistan can unveil the full conspiracy. We have been requesting Pakistan to take sincere and effective steps in that direction. Pakistan is obliged to investigate and prosecute the criminals. It is Pakistan’s responsibility that individuals based in Pakistan do not commit criminal acts in other countries and then have effective immunity simply because they are Pakistani nationals.

However the fact remains that dastardly terror crimes have been committed in India. Therefore the perpetrators must face Indian justice. This is not an either or situation as these things are not mutually exclusive.

Pakistan’s Extradition Act of 1972, in fact, specifically provides for extradition even when there is no bilateral Extradition Treaty between the countries. The SAARC Convention on Terrorism also has the same intent and such provisions are there in other international instruments.

So I think the position is quite clear and there is no question of dilution in position.

New Delhi
January 16, 2009