Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday snubbed India’s demand for a “credible crackdown” against militant groups following the detention of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, saying it does not need New Delhi’s endorsement for its actions.
“Pakistan does not need any certification or endorsement from India over the recent actions it has taken in relation to Hafiz Saeed,” a spokesperson for the federal Interior Ministry said in a statement in response to Tuesday’s statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
The spokesperson said the actions taken by the government were carried out as per “obligations vis-à-vis listing of JuD under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December, 2008”. He, however, said various actions that needed to be taken under the relevant resolution i.e. arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze were not taken for some reasons by the previous regime.
“India has constantly been using Hafiz Saeed’s political activities as a tool to malign Pakistan,” the spokesperson said, adding that the international community should take note and understand that Pakistan is a democratic country. “In Pakistan judiciary takes free, independent and transparent decisions.”
The Interior Ministry urged New Delhi to come up with undeniable evidence against the JuD chief if it were serious about the allegations.
“India 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,” the statement said.
The ministry warned New Delhi against “casting aspersions and levelling allegations without any corroborating evidence”, saying it would not help the cause of peace in the region.
The firebrand leader, who has a $10 million bounty on his head, was taken away by police on Monday and escorted to a house where he is now under house arrest. Four other JuD followers were detained in the same operation.
India said JuD was a front for the militant Lashkar-e-Taiba group, which it accuses of carrying out the attacks on India’s financial capital Mumbai in November 2008 which killed 166 people. Islamabad briefly detained Saeed in the aftermath of the attacks but he was later released on court orders.
Source: Zee News