NEW DELHI: India has asked Pakistan to extradite Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that shook the country. External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi informed that the request in this regard has been forwarded to Pakistan.

Hafiz Saeed is currently in a Pakistani jail after receiving a 33-year prison sentence in a case for raising money for terrorist activities. The case was registered against Hafiz by Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Department. India's move comes at a time when Hafiz Saeed's son and Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Talha Saeed has decided to contest the elections in Pakistan. Talha is the second in command of Lashkar-e-Taiba. He was declared a terrorist by the Union Home Ministry last year under the UAPA.

The terrorist attack that shook the country took place in the month of November 2008. The attack, which started on November 26, lasted until the Indian Army killed the attackers on November 29. 166 people including 22 foreigners were killed in the attack. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a Malayali, and many policemen and security personnel were killed. Later it was found that Lashkar-e-Toiba was behind the attack. Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, caught by security forces, was hanged on 21 November 2012.