‘I am sure there will be no hurdle’: Bilawal Bhutto claims Pakistan open to handing over Hafiz, Azhar to India; says New Delhi must cooperate

Pakistan’s former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that Islamabad would be open to extraditing individuals of concern, including terror accused, as a goodwill gesture to India, provided New Delhi is willing to cooperate in the process.Speaking to Al Jazeera, Bilawal, who also heads the Pakistan People’s Party, said that such a move could be part of a “comprehensive dialogue” between the two countries, where terrorism is discussed as a key issue."As part of a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan, where terrorism is one of the issues that we discuss, I am sure Pakistan would not be opposed to any of these things," he said, when asked whether figures like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) founder Masood Azhar could be handed over as a sign of good faith.Bilawal clarified that cases currently prosecuted against these individuals were related to domestic offences, such as terror financing. He, however, blamed India's "noncompliance" for the lack of progress on cross-border terrorism charges."India is refusing to comply with certain basic elements that require that conviction to take place," Bilawal said, pointing to the need for Indian witnesses to testify in Pakistani courts.

"If India is willing to be cooperative in that process, I am sure there will be no hurdle in extraditing any individual of concern", he added.According to Pakistan’s National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), both LeT and JeM are proscribed outfits. Hafiz Saeed, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind, is currently serving a 33-year sentence in Pakistan for terror financing. Masood Azhar, a UN-designated global terrorist, has also been banned by Nacta.Addressing concerns about Azhar’s whereabouts, Bilawal claimed, "It is our belief that he is in Afghanistan," adding that Pakistan had so far failed to locate or arrest him. “If and when the Indian government shares information that he is on Pakistani soil, we will be more than happy to arrest him,” he further said.Dismissing allegations that Hafiz Saeed was free, he said, “It is factually not correct that Hafiz Saeed is a free man; he is in the custody of the Pakistani state.”Responding to India’s assertive posture on terror, Bilawal called it a “new abnormal,” warning it could harm both nations. “This does not serve the interests of Pakistan, and it does not serve the interests of India,” he said.A 2025 Global Terrorism Index ranked Pakistan as the second-most terrorism-affected country, with a 45% rise in terror-related deaths, especially near the Afghanistan border. Bhutto has previously insisted that Pakistan met the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) standards, citing convictions and seizures of over 90 extremist-linked institutions.