Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani to rein in 26/11 mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, saying his free movement was not conducive to the atmosphere of peace and stability in the region.
Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) mentioned “deep concern about Hafiz Saeed and the way he is allowed to roam free and engage in communication not conducive (to the relationship between India and Pakistan),” Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters here.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting between two Prime Ministers, Ms. Rao said Prime Minister Singh emphatically told Pakistan that it has to act on the issue of terrorism and that the “terror machine” in that country needs to be eliminated.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Gilani assured Singh that his government was making all efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks and not to allow Pakistani soil to be used for terrorism against India.
Last week, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the authorities are keeping a close watch on Saeed and the JuD but ruled out any action till they could build a solid case against the founder of the LeT.
India blames that Saeed had personally coordinated training for the Mumbai attacks and gave Ajmal Kasab, the lone attacker captured by police, the new name of Abu Mujahid.
ADVERTISEMENT
Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawah is the front organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is accused by India of executing the 26/11 strikes that killed 166 people, including foreigners.
Saeed, who remained out of the public eye for over a year following the 2008 Mumbai attacks carried out by the LeT, recently called on the people of Pakistan to stand united against India.
The Jud chief was placed under house arrest in Lahore in December 2008 after his group was declared a front for the LeT by the UN Security Council in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.
He was freed after about six months on the orders of the Lahore High Court.