No extraditions, only Pak interests: Zardari

New Delhi: Islamabad has refused to hand over India's most wanted criminals who are believed to be taking shelter in Pakistan. This follows a meeting between Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Leaders.

Zardari told PPP leaders that his government will not hand over any terror suspects to India, as he had not received evidence of their involvement in the Mumbai carnage.

India has asked Pakistan to hand over 40 people it says are responsible for various acts of terror in the country.

They include underworld dons Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon, and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar.

Zardari stressed that all decisions on extradition will be taken in the national interest.

Earlier, Adviser to the Pakistani Prime Minister on Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik said that India had demanded extradition of two Indian nationals - Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon as well as that of Maulana Masood Azhar, a Pakistani national.

However, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said his country had provided a list of 40 people suspected of being involved in the Mumbai killings.

Observers believe that the stand-off between the two countries might intensify after Islamabad's categorical refusal to hand-over its citizens to India.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani reiterated that terror suspects caught in Pakistan will be tried there and will not be handed over to India.

Reiterating that his government will not hand over any terror suspect to India, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday said he had not received any evidence of any Pakistani's involvement in the Mumbai carnage.

In an interview with a Gulf television channel, he said if anyone was found involved in any terrorist activity, he will be dealt with according to the Pakistani law but will "not be handed over to India".

"We will go according to our own law and we will be doing according to the law of Pakistan and there is no such thing that handing over our people to India," Gilani said.

Indian authorities have maintained that the 10 terrorists who struck Mumbai on the night of November 26 has come from Pakistan.

In a communique served to the Pakistani high commissioner in New Delhi, India has asked Pakistan to hand over 40 people it says are fugitives and responsible for various acts of terror in the country.

Gilani, however, said Pakistani authorities had so far not received any evidence of the use of Pakistan's soil in the attacks that killed at least 170 people, including 22 foreigners.

"If India has any solid evidence it should share it with Pakistan," he said adding Pakistan is ready to help India in investigations.

The prime minister said his government had taken action against the Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), considered a front of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as a responsible state and abiding by the international laws and not any pressure from India.

Following India's representation on Tuesday, the UN Security Council proscribed the JuD.

Amid rising tensions between the two South Asian neighbours, Gilani said India was a responsible state and will not launch any strike against Pakistan.

He added some international "common friends" were trying to restore normalcy between India and Pakistan.

(With agency inputs)

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)