NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit once again landed himself in hot waters after his statement that Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was a Pakistani national and was, therefore, free to move around the country.
“Hafiz Saeed is a Pakistani national so he is free to move around. He is a free citizen so there is no issue as far as Pakistan is concerned,” said Abdul Basit while addressing the media on Monday. “Courts have already exonerated him. There is no case pending against him,” he stated. Basit’s remarks were met with sharp reaction from India, who have long accused Hafiz Saeed of being the mastermind of the attacks on Mumbai in 2008 that left 166 people dead. Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said: “Our views on Hafiz Saeed are very clear. –Monitoring Desk
To us, he is the evil mastermind of the attacks on Mumbai and one of the accused in an Indian court for killings on streets of Mumbai.”
“We have repeatedly asked Pakistan that he should be apprehended and taken through normal judicial process.”
The spokesperson said that the Mumbai attacks were planned in Pakistan, and hence evidence was in Pakistan.
A few weeks earlier, the High Commissioner’s meeting with Hurriyat leaders came under scrutiny, with the Indian government going as far as cancelling scheduled Secretary-level talks between the neighbouring countries.