Rome, Nov 23 (Inditop.com/AKI) India may seek a review of its extradition treaty with Italy in a bid to take hold of a Pakistani father and son allegedly linked to the Mumbai terror attack, an Indian diplomat said Monday.
“We are looking at appropriate measures, that’s all there is to say at present,” a source at the Indian embassy here told Adnkronos International (AKI) on condition of anonymity.
The current extradition treaty between India and Italy covers crimes including narcotics trafficking but not terrorism.
The Indian move follows the arrest Saturday in the northern city of Brescia of two Pakistanis suspected of helping to finance the terrorists who killed 166 people in Mumbai Nov 26-29 last year.
The two suspects, Mohammad Yaqub Janjua and son Janjua Aamer Yaqub, ran the Madina Trading money transfer business in the Italian town of Brescia in Lombardy region.
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini commented after the duo’s arrest that Italian security forces were tackling “a serious threat” from terrorism in Italy and globally.
Janjua, 60, and his 31-year-old son are accused of aiding and abetting international terrorism as well as illegal financial activity.
They allegedly supplied cash from Madina Trading to pay for an internet phone account used by alleged Pakistani handlers who were in contact with the terrorists when they went on a killing spree in Mumbai.
The duo allegedly transferred 400,000 euros ($600,000) abroad between 2006 and 2008 in over 300 transactions.
All of this was made by an ‘Iqbal Javaid’, according to Italian anti-terror investigators. One transaction was made Nov 25, 2008, a day before the terrorists sneaked into Mumbai by sea to carry out the slaughter.
Javaid, a 46 year-old Pakistani national, was arrested earlier this year in Pakistan. He was allegedly one of the main conspirators behind the Mumbai attacks carried out by Islamist Lashkar-e-Toiba group.
Two other Pakistanis were arrested in the Brescia probe and are accused of abetting illegal immigration. They are not linked to the Mumbai attacks, investigators said.
A third suspect is on the run, accused of involvement in illegal people trafficking, according to police.
After Iqbal’s arrest in February, Janjua denied any involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks in an interview with AKI.
“We, the Pakistani community are peace lovers, we have nothing to do with what happened. However, if someone is involved in something like the attacks in Mumbai, he should be punished,” he said.
Italian police began the probe in December and identified Janjua and his son, using leads from Indian authorities and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
