Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who has been named among the world's five most wanted terrorists by the United States, has re-emerged as a key player in Pakistan's jihadi politics after a brief setback in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The Jamaat-ud-Dawah on Tuesday beefed up security at the residence of its chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed in the Pakistani city of Lahore after the US announced a 10-million dollar bounty for the man accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
'Perhaps the biggest indication was its striking decision in November to delink LeT from its aid certification process.' 'The administration decided that the US, in order to send military aid to Pakistan, would not need to certify that Pakistan is cracking down on LeT.' 'Perhaps the administration was trying to offer a carrot -- in effect, we're backing off on LeT, but in return we expect you (Pakistan) to go after the Haqqanis.' 'Either way, the optics were dreadful for the US given that Hafiz Saeed was released from house arrest a few days after the US move.' 'The US reacted angrily, but eventually it moved on, and refocused on its core concern: The Afghan-focused terror groups.'
"I think it's clear to me that the ISI has connections with terrorist groups," General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Asked about the $ 10 million bounty announced for Saeed by the United States, he said a policy statement on the issue had been issued by the foreign office and he had expressed his views in parliament on Friday.
The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday sought the death penalty for convicted Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, who had earlier pleaded guilty of all charges, including those under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, in a terror funding case, court sources said.
Pakistan's claims about placing Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and alleged mastermind of the terror attack on Mumbai Hafiz Mohammad Saeed in custody might be yet another false claim, as a senior police official has clarified that the authorities have only 'restricted' his movement.Punjab Inspector General of Police Tariq Saleem Dogar said Saeed has neither been arrested nor put under house arrest, rather the police is providing an extra security cover to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba's founder
United States State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland has said that India played no role in the bounty being placed on the former Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder.
Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who is accused of masterminding the Mumbai terror attacks, on Friday said the only solution to resolving problems between India and Pakistan is the 'liberation of Jammu and Kashmir', failing which radical groups will resort to the 'option of Jihad'. Addressing a gathering of about 10,000 people at the Mall Road in Lahore to mark 'Kashmir Solidarity Day', Saeed said this is the message he would convey to Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, blamed by India for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai carnage, on Tuesday night said New Delhi has never presented any evidence to back up its assertions that his group was involved in several terrorist attacks.
Banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed has joined the debate over conditions attached to US aid to be provided to Pakistan, charging that clauses asking the country to take action against militant groups had been included due to "Indian pressure".
The Pakistan government needs to examine the evidence provided by India, on the basis of which Interpol issued a Red Corner Notice against Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said.He reiterated that Pakistan will never allow anyone to use its territory "against India or anyone else".
Pakistan needs to examine the evidence provided by India on the basis of which Interpol issued a Red Corner Notice against Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said.
Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed on Thursday rubbished Pakistan governments efforts to improve relations with India, alleging that country had engaged in dialogue only to 'cause harm' to Pakistan and to sideline the Kashmir issue.
"Whether it is in Afghanistan or against India, groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) continue to operate with both impunity and encouragement," India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar said
Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, blamed for the Mumbai terror attacks, has demanded that the Pakistan government should announce a date for parting ways with the United States and abandoning its war on terrorism.
Activists of radical women's outfit, Dukhtaran-e-Millat on Wednesday hoisted Pakistani flags at several places in Srinagar on the occasion of Pakistan Day.
Days after Anupam Kher slammed Yogi Adityanath and Sadhvi Prachi, the BJP MP from Gorkhapur has called the actor a 'real life villain'.
A combative Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief, on Wednesday dared the United States to carry out a military raid against him like the one that killed Osama bin Laden, saying he was not hiding and would inform the Americans himself about his whereabouts.
Jamaat ud-Dawa chief and Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed cannot be prosecuted for involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks without 'concrete evidence' against him, Pakistan's top law official said on Wednesday. "The government has the evidence provided by the United Nations Security Council that can only keep Saeed behind bars for a certain period of time under the Maintenance of Public Order law," said Attorney General Latif Khosa.
The Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has served legal notices on two Pakistani journalists for allegedly concocting a report about his secret meeting with United States Ambassador Cameron Munter, seeking Rs 10 crore as damages.
The release of Jamaat -ud-Dawaa chief Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed is probably one of the worst thing that could have happened to India. Although the Lashkar-e-Tayiba continued to operate despite its chief being detained, Saeed's release will only motivate more youth to take up jihad, sources in the Intelligence Bureau told rediff.com.
With the five-member Joint Investigation Team from Pakistan having reached Pathankot to begin probe into the terror attack on the Indian Air Force Base, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday slammed the centre for 'welcoming' the team which also has a member from the Inter-Services Intelligence, saying that Lashkar-e-Tayiba chief Hafiz Saeed could also be a part of the team and no one would know.
The release of banned outfit Jamaat-Ud-Dawah Chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed by a Lahore Court today may embolden the Lashker-e-Toiba cadres operating in India who may themselves plan a strike or do it on the orders of their master, security experts here feel.
He said time has come for freedom of PoK and it would be part of India soon.
The SECP notification further warned that non-compliance with the said ruling could result in a hefty monetary fine.
Sixteen top Taliban militants, including Mullah Fazlullah, planned the deadly Peshawar school massacre during a meeting held in Afghanistan in early December, Pakistani officials said on Thursday.
The two leaders reaffirmed that the United States and India 'will take concerted action against all terrorist groups, including groups proscribed by the UNSCR 1267 Sanctions Committee'.
Set free by the Lahore High Court nearly six months after he was placed under house arrest in the wake of Mumbai attacks, banned JuD chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed today claimed that the lone Pakistani terrorist captured alive during the 26/11 strikes had "no connection" with his outfit.
Pakistan is a sovereign state and the Defa-e-Pakistan Council will not allow the country to become an "Indian market", Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed said on Saturday.
The Mumbai attack mastermind had indicated about a week before his arrest that he might launch Tehreek Azadi Jammu and Kashmir (TAJK) to 'expedite the freedom of Kashmir'.
Pakistan on Thursday said that the information provided so far by India on the Mumbai attacks was not enough for it to take legal action against outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. "It needs to be underlined that the dossiers and information received from India apropos Saeed are not really enough ... to proceed legally as is being expected," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a weekly news briefing in Islamabad.
He said the situation was made difficult for the terrorist organisations as a result Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar sent his nephews to carry out terror activities.
The Pakistan Supreme Court on Monday asked authorities to provide 'solid grounds' for detaining Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, more than a week after two petitions were filed before it against the release of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawaah chief, a key accused in the Mumbai attacks, from house arrest.
During the searches, a few thousand Pakistani rupees and currencies belonging to the UAE and Saudi Arabia as well as incriminating documents were found
Notwithstanding the recent Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level meeting for which India took initiative, Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed has said Pakistan will have to 'fight a war at all costs' if New Delhi is not prepared to hold talks.
Notwithstanding the dossiers of information handed over by India, Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence believes that there is nothing to implicate Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, a key accused in the Mumbai terror attack case, a media report said in Islamabad on Wednesday, quoting an ISI official.Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Saeed, who was also the founder of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba, was let off in July by a Pakistani court.
Saeed made the remarks while addressing a Friday prayer congregation at a mosque in Gujranwala in Pakistan's Punjab province on Saturday.
Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, blamed by India for masterminding the Mumbai terror attacks, has alleged that the flood situation worsened in Pakistan after the neighbouring country released waters in Pakistani rivers. "The Pakistani rulers are silent on Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir and the building of dams on Pakistani rivers. We must not forget that in the current floods, more devastation has been caused after India released water in Pak rivers," he said
Facing flak for inaction against Mumbai attack perpetrators, including Hafiz Mohd Saeed, Pakistan today said it does not want to take to court a "half-baked" case against the JuD chief in the absence of "legally tenable" evidence and asked India not to hold back the ties on a single issue.
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