WASHINGTON: The United States (US) has expressed its concerns over Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed’s plans to contest the general election scheduled to be held in 2018.
State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert at a regular press briefing called Saeed the ‘mastermind behind the Mumbai attacks’, and said that the US ‘would certainly have concerns about him running for office’, while referring to the setting up of Milli Muslim League (MML), a political party backed by Hafiz Saeed.
While emphasising on the US concerns regarding Hafiz Saeed, Nauert said, “I want to remind folks we have a $10 million Reward for Justice program… for information that would bring him (Saeed) to justice. So I want to make that clear so that everybody knows, $10 million out for this guy.”
While answering a question regarding Pakistan’s decision to set Hafiz Saeed free, Nauert said, “I would imagine that if we had any intelligence (that would help Pakistan take action against Saeed) and that’s not an area that I can discuss, anyway – but we would certainly share it with the Pakistanis on that front. I hope they’ll do the right thing.”
On January 1, 2017, the Punjab government had issued orders to place Saeed under house arrest under Section 11-EEE(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1977. The JuD leader had walked free after about 300-day house arrest after his latest 30-day detention expired on November 23.
Hafiz Saeed has been repeatedly accused by the US and India of masterminding the 2008 attacks on the Indian financial capital Mumbai that killed 166 people.
Published in Daily Times, December 21st 2017.
