India Will Be Watching If Pakistan Is Sincere In Its Crackdown Against Hafiz Saeed

Islamabad: Even as Pakistani authorities have booked Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and 12 other leaders of the charity, that is a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, for terror financing, India would be watching the developments closely to see whether Islamabad is sincere in its action against terror this time.

Islamabad’s move comes in the wake of a stern warning from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — which asked Pakistan to act on terror financing or be downgraded to the black list — and also as the International Monetary Fund approved a $6 billion financial package for the cash-strapped country. The trial of the 2008 Mumbai terror bombings that killed 166 people has not moved forward in any tangible way. Saeed has been placed under house arrest in the past, let off after some days and then allowed to move around freely and spew venom against India.

India has time and again conveyed to Pakistan that dialogue cannot resume unless Islamabad shows sincerity in cracking down against terror groups operating from its soil. Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) - a US-designated terror outfit, was placed under house arrest in September 2009, but was cleared of all charges a month later and allowed to move freely. Besides, Hafiz Saeed and his brother-in-law Abdul Rehman Makki, the other JuD leaders against whom cases have been registered are Malik Zafar Iqbal, Ameer Hamza, Mohammad Yahya Aziz, Mohammad Naeem, Mohsin Bilal, Abdul Raqeeb, Dr Ahmad Daud, Dr Muhammad Ayub, Abdullah Ubaid, Mohammad Ali and Abdul Ghaffar. (IANS)

Also Read: JuD Chief Hafiz Saeed’s Kin Held For Hate Speech