Just two days after 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, along with his four aides, was put under house arrest, Pakistan asked India to provide “concrete evidence” against Saeed. Pakistan has also placed the Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief on the Exit Control List.
An Interior Ministry spokesperson said, “If indeed India is serious about its allegations, it should come up with concrete evidence against Hafiz Saeed which is sustainable in court of law in Pakistan or for that matter anywhere in the world.” He added that merely casting aspersions and leveling allegations without any corroborating evidence would not help the cause of peace in the region.
After Saeed was placed under house arrest, India had said that she was not impressed by Saeed’s detention and instead asked for a “credible crackdown” on terror outfits. New Delhi reasoned that only a strong action by Pakistan against these terror outfits will prove its sincerity adding that such actions have been taken in the past too.
Meanwhile, along with Saeed, 37 others have also been named in the Exit Control List. All of those named are believed to be affiliated with JuD or Lashkar-e-Taiba. “Saeed, Ubaid, Iqbal, Abid and Niaz are reportedly active members of the aforementioned organizations within the meaning of Section 11EEE(1) of the ATA 1997 (as amended),” a notification released by the Interior Ministry said.
Amid reports that there is massive pressure by the Donald Trump administration in the US, Pakistan had placed Saeed under a 90-day house arrest. However, it is not the first time that Saeed has been put under detention. A similar action had been taken against him after Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 as well, but he was set free by the court in 2009.
