India has named five Pakistani army officers in a list of 50 criminals it wants extradited to stand trial on terror charges, the first time India has directly accused serving Pakistani military officers of being involved with militancy. The “most-wanted list” was handed to Pakistan in March, its contents have only just been released. Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai presented the list to his Pakistani counterpart, Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, during a meeting in March, a senior government official with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
In addition to five serving majors in the Pakistan Army, the list includes accused underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, and suspected members of militant groups Al Qaeda, Lakshar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Separately, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Afghanistan “in the near future” to discuss security and development, a senior government official said on Wednesday, amid regional uncertainty following bin Laden’s death. Any quickening of the endgame in Afghanistan is a concern for India, which fears a US withdrawal would leave it exposed to an unfriendly, Pakistan-dominated neighbourhood and unfettered militancy in its backyard.