Mumbai Police Seek Interpol Aid to Serve Proclamation Orders on Hafiz Saeed, Others for 26/11 Trial in Absentia

Mumbai: Mumbai Police have formally approached the Union Home Ministry seeking assistance to serve court-issued proclamation orders through Interpol on six absconding Pakistani nationals, including Lashkar-e-Taiba founders Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. The move aims to facilitate their trial in absentia for alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam informed a special court handling terror cases on Friday that an interim report had been submitted regarding the proclamation orders issued in July.

“We have written to the Ministry of Home Affairs for taking necessary steps in serving the proclamation order, through Interpol, against the accused residing in Pakistan,” Nikam told the court.

He added that the ministry acknowledged the request on August 3 and sought time to provide a status update.

The six accused named in the orders are Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Sajid Mir, Abu Alqama, Asim alias Abu Qahafa, and Major Abdur Rehman Pasha. All are Pakistani nationals. Their alleged roles in the attacks were detailed in statements by the lone surviving attacker Ajmal Kasab and accused-turned-approver David Headley.

Under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, courts can conduct full criminal trials in the absence of proclaimed offenders who have absconded to evade justice and for whom there is no immediate prospect of arrest.

The 26/11 attacks in November 2008 saw 10 Pakistani terrorists hold Mumbai under siege for more than 60 hours, targeting iconic and high-profile locations. The assault claimed 166 lives, including six American nationals. Kasab, the only attacker captured alive, was convicted of mass murder and waging war against India. He was sentenced to death and executed at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune on November 21, 2012.

The latest steps mark a significant procedural advance in efforts to prosecute the remaining key figures linked to one of India’s deadliest terrorist incidents.

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