India has reacted sternly to Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit’s statement that there was no case and evidence against Hafiz Saeed of being conspirator in Mumbai terror attack. Being a Pakistani national, he can roam freely in the country, asserted Basit.
India hit back saying that all evidence against Saeed are in Pakistan itself since their soil was used for conspiracy, planning and funding of the 26/11 attacks. Terming Saeed as the ‘evil’ mastermind behind the Mumbai attacks, India said it devolves on Pakistan to deliver justice.
Basit, on Monday, stoked the fire by saying: “Hafiz Saeed is a Pakistani national, so he is free to roam around. What is the problem... Courts have already exonerated him. There is no case pending against him. He is a free citizen and there is no issue as far as Pakistan is concerned.”
India retorted: “Our views on Saeed are very clear. 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. Alas! He has never been arrested on account of 26/11.
Therefore, he is only free because he is a Pakistani citizen," said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs.
Responding to Basit's statement that there is no evidence to put Saeed behind bars, Akbaruddin said: "As far as evidence to prove his involvement is concerned, 99 per cent evidence in this case is in Pakistan. That is because the entire conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan. The planning for this dastardly act was done in Pakistan. The financing for this act was undertaken in Pakistan and people involved who were involved in this were from Pakistan. Therefore, it has always been our view that it devolves on Pakistan that it ensures that criminals like Saeed were brought to book and justice was delivered in the instance of crime in Mumbai."
India is already upset over the slow pace of ongoing trial in Pakistan with regard to 26/11 attacks, and recently a diplomatic protest was registered over repeated adjournments in the case. India strongly believes that Saeed is the mastermind behind Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. Saeed has also been designated as a terrorist by the USA. However, Pakistan maintains there is no evidence to prove his terrorist links and activities.
In fact, Saeed's organization Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation, a wing of Jamaat-ud-Dawah that he heads, is working alongside Pakistan Army close to line of Control. Basit justified it by saying: "We all know that on both sides of the line of Control, there have been devastating floods, killing many, many people. I think in India and Pakistan, all welfare organisations are working hand in hand with the government, so we should look at this positively rather than critically."
Saeed has accused India of indulging in `water-terrorism.' "On one hand, the Indian government has discharged water in rivers without notification and has given false information, and on the other is ironically offering help," Saeed said in Pakistan in reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's offer to help Pakistan in the flood crisis.