Red Corner Notice Aganist ‘Sayed’: Reality Check

India, the political leadership in particular, is very excited about the Red Corner notice against Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi issued by the Interpol on Tuesday. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has even declared the move as a vindication of India’s investigation into the Mumbai terror strikes. India comprehends, or at least portrays, the move as sign of international pressure on Pakistan. The UPA will use this Red Corner Notice as one of its major achievements in counter-terror diplomacy vis-à-vis Pakistan. The excitement has undoubtedly overtaken any fact-checking by the Government of India.
The bio of Hafiz Saeed on the Interpol website is not completely similar to the one sought by India. The name on the Interpol site is Hafiz Saab Sayed and nationality is Pakistan. This is a common name in Pakistan and does not necessarily imply the same person that India is seeking. The most glaring mismatch is with regard to the photo and institutional affiliation of “Hafiz Saeed”. The Interpol site has not mentioned Saeed’s linkage to either the LeT or JuD. The photo is marked as “unavailable.”  The lack of clarity on such critical details has been completely overlooked by the Government of India.
Moreover, it needs to be highlighted what a Red Corner Notice implies. These Interpol ‘Red Notices’ represent only a tiny fraction of the number of red notices issued by Interpol. The persons concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions (or the International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate) and Interpol’s role is to assist the national police forces in identifying or locating those persons with a view to their arrest and extradition. Thus the national police, that is police authorities in Pakistan, will be responsible for arresting Saeed. Following this the Interpol also mentions that people against whom such notices are issued are to be considered innocent until proven guilty. The Pakistani authorities have already declared Saeed not guilty of involvement in Mumbai attacks. Does India expect that a re-run of that process would yield a different result? Since there is no extradition treaty between India and Pakistan, Hafiz Saeed will not be handed over to India.
So is the Interpol Red Notice against ‘Sayed’ really so exciting? Why are the reactions by Indian leadership reflexive rather than being measured and calculated?