THE case of Hafiz Saeed continues to baffle and challenge in more ways than one.
The US has just asked Pakistan to rearrest the Jamaatud Dawa chief
whose detention at home came to an end on Friday after a court refused
to extend the period of his confinement. The US has asked the Pakistani
government to charge him for “his crimes”, though the harshest response
to his release has, unsurprisingly, come from India.
Hafiz
Saeed, in his turn, is seemingly mindful of the value of putting
greater pressure on the PML-N government which, to put it mildly, is
faced with a quandary of its own.
Soon after his release, the Dawa chief touched upon his favourite, and a most sensitive, topic
when he told a Friday congregation in Lahore that former prime minister
Nawaz Sharif was forced to step down because he had betrayed the
Kashmiri cause. The latter is the original — and by no means unpopular —
slogan of Hafiz Saeed and his now banned Lashkar-e-Taiba.
It
shows just how knotty the issue, which transcends national and
ideological boundaries, is. Deft handling is required by the authorities
here, that must also investigate the serious allegations which led to
his being designated a “terrorist individual” by the UN.
Violence
can never be condoned and those resorting to it must be held
accountable. But away from the calls for justice, the problem requires
engagement with various parties from the US to India to outfits and
institutions within this country. Not that anyone in Pakistan has ever
been fully equipped to deal with all these elements at once but the
government was perhaps better placed to address the question sometime
ago.
A government which has recently lost its prime
minister and is being run by his replacement who has one eye on the next
election and the other on the court proceedings against his leader can
hardly be expected to cope well with the calls for and warnings against a
trial of Hafiz Saeed.
Which brings us to the salient point about the futility of repeating the exercise over and over again: Hafiz Saeed is put under house arrest and set free after a while.
He is seen by the outside world, which demands his arrest, as having
been ‘captured’. Is this impression all that is supposed to be achieved?
Someone must think so.
Otherwise, the reruns of the arrest-and-release sequence make little sense.
US urges Pakistan to re-arrest Hafiz Saeed
WASHINGTON: The United States urged Pakistan on Friday to
re-arrest Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed and charge him with
the crimes he is accused of committing.
Mr Saeed, who
has been designated a terrorist by the US Justice Department, was
released early on Friday after a court on Wednesday rejected the
government’s plea for a 60-day extension in his house arrest.
“The
Pakistani government should make sure that he is arrested and charged
for his crimes,” said the State Department in a statement issued hours
after Mr Saeed’s release.
It is rare for the US
government to issue a statement during the Thanksgiving holidays but the
State Department felt that the issue was urgent enough to ignore this
tradition.
“The United States is deeply concerned that
Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed has been released from house arrest
in Pakistan,” the department said, adding that “LeT is a designated
Foreign Terrorist Organisation responsible for the death of hundreds of
innocent civilians in terrorist attacks, including a number of American
citizens”.
The US Treasury Department branded the LeT
chief a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in May 2008 and in
December 2008 the United Nations also designated him a “terrorist
individual”. Both designations blamed him for the November 2008 Mumbai
attack in which 166 people, including six American citizens, were
killed.
Jamaatud Dawa chief accuses India of fuelling terrorism in Pakistan
The State Department reminded Pakistan that LeT and several
of its front organisations, leaders and operatives remained under State
Department and Treasury Department sanctions.
Since 2012, the United States has offered a $10 million reward for information that brings Mr Saeed to justice.
In
an earlier statement to the Indian media, Bruce Riedel, who headed the
team that formulated the Obama administration’s Afghan policy, urged
Washington to take strong action against Pakistan for releasing Mr
Saeed. “Nine years after 26/11, its mastermind still eludes justice. It
is time to rescind Pakistan’s status as a major non-Nato ally,” he said.
Pakistan rejects India’s ‘self-serving insinuations’
In response to a question regarding comments made by the
Indian Ministry of External Affairs on the release of Hafiz Saeed, the
Foreign Office spokesperson said that Pakistan remains committed to the
implementation of UNSC 1267 sanctions regime and has taken several steps
in this regard.
The spokesperson took exception to self-serving insinuations.
The
courts in Pakistan, pursuant to their constitutional duty, are
determined to uphold rule of law and due process for all citizens of
Pakistan. Legal processes are anchored in rule of law, not dictates of
politics and posturing.
It is in the interest of all
states to speak and act in a manner that is consistent with the
imperatives of adhering to rule of law at the national and international
levels.
Pakistan’s resolve, actions and successes in the
fight against terrorism, terrorist violence and terrorists is unmatched
in the world. Pakistan condemns and opposes all forms of terrorism by
any individual or group. Pakistan also opposes and condemns acts of
terrorism inside Pakistan and elsewhere by India, which claims to be a
champion of democracy, and international law, according to the
spokesperson.
Our Staff Reporter in Lahore adds: Only a
few hours after being released, Mr Saeed accused India of funding and
fuelling terrorism and extremism in Pakistan. He said evidence was
available to substantiate this.
The Jamaatud Dawa chief
was delivering the Friday sermon at Masjid-i-Qadsia. “Peace cannot be
restored and maintained in Pakistan until notorious elements such as
Kulbhushan [Jadhav] are present in the country,” he said.
Terming
Pakistan a gift from Allah, Mr Saeed said: “Today’s biggest problem is
that Pakistani rulers are obeying the West like slaves. We have to free
Pakistan. Freedom of Pakistan in real terms can ensure Kashmir’s
independence.” He claimed that he was fighting the case for a free
Pakistan and a free Kashmir. There was nothing personal about the
affair.
“The day when the rulers will start taking their own decisions, foreign pressure will evaporate,” he said.
Mr Saeed urged the government to re-evaluate its priorities and reformulate its policies about India.
Pakistan should open a dialogue with India only after it pulls out its armed forces from occupied Kashmir.
“Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted from his office because he betrayed the Kashmiris,” he said.
The
parliamentarians took the oath that they would protect Pakistan and
Kashmir, he said and added that any deviation from it would have
consequences.
India slams release of Hafiz Saeed
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday slammed the release of Jamaatud
Dawa (JuD) leader Hafiz Saeed and accused Pakistan of trying to
mainstream a terrorist, thus designated by the United Nations.
In
Lahore, the JuD leader walked free after about 300-day house arrest as
his latest 30-day detention expired on Thursday midnight.
The Punjab government set him free after a provincial review board on Wednesday ordered his release following the failure of the home department to justify his detention.
A
number of JuD workers had gathered early in the day outside the Johar
Town residence of Hafiz Saeed to greet him on his release.
Official sources told Dawn that the government could no way hold him back after the review board’s decision.
The
board had told the Punjab government to release Hafiz Saeed if he was
not wanted in any other case. There was speculation before his release
that he might be booked in some other case.
Earlier, Indian Express
quoted a foreign ministry spokesperson as expressing “outrage” at the
imminent release of the man Delhi accuses of being the Mumbai terror
attack mastermind. “The release confirms Pakistan’s lack of seriousness
in bringing perpetrators of terror to justice,” the Express said, quoting the spokesperson.
“India
is outraged that a self-confessed and UN-proscribed terrorist has been
allowed to walk free,” spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, adding that it
was an attempt by Pakistan to “mainstream” proscribed terrorists.
India
claims that the JuD head was the mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks that
left 166 people dead. Ten gunmen, including Ajmal Kasab, had gone on a
killing spree in the city after reaching the city from Karachi by sea,
India says.
Hafiz Saeed carries a bounty of $10 million
announced by the US for his role in terror activities. He had been under
detention since January this year. He was put under house arrest after
the Mumbai attack but was released about six months later in June 2009.
'I am fighting for the freedom of Pakistan and Kashmir', Hafiz Saeed says after release
Addressing a
sermon at Lahore's Jamia Masjid Al Qadsia a day after walking free,
Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) leader Hafiz Saeed said on Friday that he is
"fighting for the freedom of Pakistan and Kashmir."
The
JuD chief claimed that he had been placed under house arrest for
fighting for the rights of Kashmiris and suggested that the country's
leaders are making decisions under external pressure.
"If
the leaders of the Pakistan start making their own decisions, they will
no longer face external pressure," the leader of the proscribed group
said.
The JuD chief said that former prime minister Nawaz
Sharif was ousted because he had betrayed the people of Kashmir. He
further alleged that India is involved in terrorist activities in
Pakistan.
"Peace cannot be established in Pakistan if
terrorists such as Kulbashan Jadhav continue to enter the country,"
Saeed said, referring to the Indian spy who was sentenced to death by a
Pakistani military court in April on charges of espionage and terrorism.
Washington 'deeply concerned'
Also on Friday, Washington said it was “deeply concerned”
with the release of the JuD chief, who carries a bounty of $10 million
announced by the US for his role in terror activities.
"Lashkar-e-Taiba
is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization responsible for the
death of hundreds of innocent civilians in terrorist attacks, including a
number of American citizens," US State Department spokesman Heather
Nauert said, referring to the party which is considered to be a front
for JuD.
“The Pakistani government should make sure that he is arrested and charged for his crimes," Nauert added.
A
day earlier, India had slammed the release of the JuD chief, whose
300-day house arrest 30-day detention expired on Thursday at midnight.
India
claims that the JuD head was the mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks that
left 166 people dead. Ten gunmen, including Ajmal Kasab, had gone on a
killing spree in the city after reaching the city from Karachi by sea,
India says.
A spokesperson for the JuD rubbished the
criticism in a statement issued Friday evening, saying that: "Hafiz
Saeed is an advocate of peace and a philanthropist."
He
condemned "American concern" over Saeed's release, insisting that
Pakistan's judiciary is independent and any attempt to question its
decisions is equivalent to interfering in the country's internal
matters.
The Foreign Office issued a similarly worded
response to India's 'concerns', stating that: "The courts in Pakistan,
pursuant to their constitutional duty, are determined to uphold rule of
law and due process for all citizens of Pakistan."
"Legal processes are anchored in rule of law, not dictates of politics and posturing," the FO's spokesperson said.
"It
is in the interest of all states to speak and act in a manner that is
consistent with the imperatives of adhering to rule of law at the
national and international levels."
Brushing aside
insinuations that Hafiz Saeed's release was akin to support of terrorist
outfits, the FO said: "Pakistan’s resolve, actions and successes in the
fight against terrorism, terrorist violence and terrorists is unmatched
in the world. Pakistan condemns and opposes all forms of terrorism by
any individual or group. Pakistan also opposes and condemns acts of
terrorism inside Pakistan and elsewhere by India, which claims to be a
champion of democracy, and international law."
Hafiz Saeed set to be freed after LHC turns down extension in detention order
A review board comprising judges of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday refused to extend the detention orders of Jamaatud Dawa’s (JuD) chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed.
His current house arrest is going to expire on Nov 24 (Friday).
The
review board under the chair of Justice Abdul Sami Khan passed these
orders after a senior finance ministry official failed to convince the
board that the release of Saeed would bring diplomatic and financial
problems to the country.
During the last hearing, the
government while seeking extension in the detention orders had argued
that Saeed could not be released because the move would result in
financial sanctions and a halt in foreign funding to the country. In
response, the board had directed the government to send an official from
the finance ministry to explain how release of a single individual
would affect the entire country.
The JuD chief had been placed under house arrest on January
31 for 90 days. Subsequently, his house arrest had been extended several
times.
Following the decision, Saeed told media that an
end to his detention is tantamount to the victory of truth, calling it
"a serious blow" to India's demands.
Earlier, Saeed's
counsel informed the board that a court had declared the detention of
his four aides as illegal. He argued that there is no proof against him
and he had been detained illegally. He alleged that the government had
placed him under house arrest to oblige the United States. Seeking an
end to his detention, Saeed argued that his captivity without any
legality amounts to a violation of the Constitution and his fundamental
human rights.
The counsel of the federal government
argued that the release of four associates of Saeed had created law and
order issues. He also argued that his release may warrant international
sanctions against the country. However, the board rejected the plea to
extend his detention on the grounds of insufficient evidences.
Following the decision, admirers of Hafiz Saeed chanted slogans and showered him with rose petals.
