Pakistani human rights activists on Thursday supported the decision by a special court in Mumbai to award the death sentence to Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the terror siege on Mumbai in November, 2008. Pakistani human rights activist Marvi Sarmad said, "The decision to hang Ajmal Kasab is a right one; he deserved it. I will say that is a right decision, which was decided after a genuine process. I am personally against capital punishment."
On the eve of Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks, India on Tuesday regretted that 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed is moving freely in Pakistan, which needs to do more on tackling terrorism.
The US also said Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba posed a "regional and global" threat for it and India. "There are five, probably six, suspects currently being held in Islamabad in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks," US Ambassador Timothy J Roemer said.
Dawood Ibrahim, the second most wanted terrorist in India after Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed, is hiding in Pakistan, according to the Indian administration. But Pakistan has denied reports about granting refuge to Dawood. The Intelligence Bureau has now prepared a fresh dossier on the underworld don -- the mastermind of the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai -- and handed it over to the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA is reportedly tracking the underworld don.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday retained Pakistan on its 'grey list' for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and asked Islamabad to investigate and prosecute senior leaders and commanders of United Nations-designated terror groups, including Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.
India is all set to ask the United States and Pakistan to extradite nine persons involved in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack that include Pakistani- American terrorist David Headley, Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and two Inter-Services Intelligence officers.
Amid row over Ved Pratap Vaidik's meeting with Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan on Friday said it was not aware about the meeting and asserted that no action can be taken against the Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief as there was no evidence against him.
Ribbing Modi, Gandhi on his Twitter handle said "more hugs were urgently needed" between PM Modi and Trump.
The National Democratic Alliance, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal joined hands on Tuesday in the Lok Sabha to attack the government over Pakistan's dilly dallying tactics on prosecution of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, saying his release has rendered Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurances meaningless.
A delegation of Indian lawmakers have asked United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to press Pakistan to bring Mumbai terror attack accused like Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi to book and ensure that Islamabad does not divert US aid for anti-India activities.The delegation led by Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi met Clinton in Washington and also expressed concern over the proposed China-Pakistan nuclear deal.
Russia has identified underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan-based terror outfits Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi as financiers of terrorism through money laundering.
The world saw what Lashkar-e-Tayiba was capable of during the horrific 26/11 attack in Mumbai. Post this incident, many had been speaking of the manner in which the Lashkar is positioning itself to become the next Al Qaeda. It was clear when Lashkar to boss Hafiz Saeed swore that they would have their flags flying at Washington DC, New Delhi and Tel Aviv. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
The reaction by the State Department came after Pakistan Premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, during an interview to Geo TV on Tuesday, referred to Saeed as 'sahib' or 'sir'.
Ahead of a crucial meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Home Minister P Chidambaram, the United States today said his visit is aimed at deepening strategic relationship with India.
The 26-page lawsuit accusing the ISI of aiding and abetting the LeT in the slaughter of 166 people was filed before a New York Court on November 19, following which the Brooklyn court issued summons to Major Samir Ali, Azam Cheema, Ahmed Shuja Pasha, Nadeem Taj and Major Iqbal of the Inter-Services Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and and Hafiz Saeed of the Jammat ud Dawaa.
The NIA arrested the three during in-chamber proceedings before Special Judge Rakesh Syal and sought 15-day custodial interrogation.
Before the elections, concerns have been raised in the country over the participation of hardline Islamist groups in large numbers.
Gul is the sixth individual to have been designated as a terrorist by the Centre in the last fortnight.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday regretted that Home Secretary G K Pillai was not 'defended' by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna when he was 'openly castigated' by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for his remarks that the Inter Services Intelligence had coordinated the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
This is the first time the Pakistan army has publicly backed the arrest of India-focused jihadis.
Home Minister P Chidambaram will arrive in Islamabad on Friday on a two-day visit to Pakistan during which he is expected to press for action against Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and seek voice samples of handlers of the Mumbai attackers.
Pakistan on Saturday said the trial in the Mumbai attacks case would be carried forward based on the information brought by a judicial commission that had visited India recently.
India on Thursday handed over three dossiers to Pakistan, dealing with three different aspects of terrorism being bred in Pakistan.
Rubbishing Pakistan's claim of a victory in the case, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Islamabad has its 'own compulsions to lie' to its people.
Bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice is an important task to finish for Pakistan, which also needs to look into the issue of Hafiz Saeed, accused by India of masterminding the terror strike, besides preventing cross-border infiltration, the United States has said.
About 150 terrorist entities and individuals, either based or with links to Pakistan have been blacklisted by the United Nations, with the latest addition being of Abdul Rehman Makki, the Lashkar-e-Taiba deputy chief designated by the Security Council's Al Qaeda sanctions committee.
Nirupama Rao, who took over as the foreign secretary on August 1, has had a variety of issues on her platter -- the reported incursions by China along the border, the attack near the Indian embassy in Kabul, Pakistan dilly-dallying on prosecuting Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and the mounting political pressure over the rehabilitation of displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka.
"We have submitted all information available to us, but we want more information to make our case solid," Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said, adding that in the absence of enough evidence, the court would exonerate Saeed for lack of authentic proof.
No militant belonging to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba or its parent organisation, the Jamaat-ud-Daawa, has been included in Pakistan's top 10 most wanted terrorists list.JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, along with other top LeT commanders, has been accused of masterminding the deadly Mumbai terror attacks on November 26, 2008, in which 179 people were killed.Pakistan's top ten most wanted terrorists belong to six militant and sectarian organisations linked to the al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
'Saeed has been freed as the government decided not to detain him in any other case,' a top Pakistan official told PTI.
Dr Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and the highest-ranking Indian American in the Barack Obama administration, has set the record straight over conflicting reports that he had visited a relief camp run by a front organisation of Jamaat-ud-Dawa in Pakistan's Sindh province and handed over US aid.The JuD is headed by Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Tayiba and alleged mastermind of the horrific 26/11 terror attacks.
In the first ministerial visit from India to Pakistan since the terror strike on Mumbai, Home Minister P Chidambaram will travel to Islamabad on Friday on a two-day trip, during which he is expected to press for a probe against Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and seek voice samples of the handlers of the 26/11 terrorists.Chidambaram is visiting Pakistan to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Interior Minister's Conference on Saturday.
Kashmir was with India, Kashmir is with India and Kashmir will remain with India forever, said Singh.
Hafiz Saeed-backed Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek (AAT) had fielded 265 candidates -- including 13 women -- countrywide.
The Palestinian foreign ministry also denied this information, saying, "Our ambassador in Pakistan is in Palestine and our position was declared by our official statement which we have published last week."
Mahmood Ali Durrani, who was sacked as the Pakistan's National Security Advisor after he acknowledged Ajmal Kasab's Pakistani nationality, has insisted that Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed had no role in the 26/11 terror strike and has asked New Delhi not to "push" Islamabad.
Even as Pakistan continues to claim that India has not provided enough evidence in the Mumbai terror attack case, Interpol has suggested otherwise by issuing an arrest warrant against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.
India on Thursday asked Pakistan to demonstrate the same 'force' to deal with terror groups like Laskar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed like it has done against the Taliban in Swat Valley.
The Obama administration is "disturbed" by the release of Jamaat-ud-Daawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who was placed under house arrest nearly six months ago in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, US Special Representative Richard Holbrooke said on Wednesday.
India has said it would talk to Pakistan if it takes "credible steps" to demonstrate its willingness to fight terror both "within and without". External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, however, suggested that Pakistan had not done enough to bring to justice the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks and highlighted the release of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed as a case in point.
