Hafiz Saeed Issue was Strongly Raised: India
Strongly rejecting Islamabad’s claim that Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed did not figure in the recent Foreign Secretary-level talks between the two countries, India on Sunday reiterated that the “unhindered freedom” he enjoyed in that country was “strongly” raised during the February 25 contact.
Voicing “surprise” at the reported statement which claimed that the issue of arrest of Saeed was not brought up during the talks, the External Affairs Ministry said India has been demanding action against Saeed since the dastardly 26/11 attack on Mumbai, in 2008.
“Saeed’s activities including his recent vitriolic and venomous statements aimed at fomenting further acts of terrorism against India and the unhindered public space and freedom he enjoys in Pakistan was raised strongly by India during the Foreign Secretary-level talks,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman is reported to have said in a statement issued in New Delhi.
“A dossier containing a compilation of evidence on the involvement of Saeed in the terrorist attacks was handed over to Pakistan on August 21, 2009 and his name featured prominently in yet another dossier handed over to the Pakistan Foreign Secretary during the talks on February 25, 2010,” the ministry statement added.
Addressing the media in Multan, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had reportedly claimed that India never demanded the arrest of Saeed nor discussed the issue at the Feb. 25 talks.
(Based on Media Reports)
