ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: As Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was released from house arrest on Friday, the United States urged Pakistan to arrest him and charge for ‘his crimes’.
“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,” US State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said. “The Pakistani government should make sure that he is arrested and charged for his crimes.”
The statement came as head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), who has a $10 million US bounty on his head, led Friday prayers and met with supporters in Lahore after his midnight release.
In his sermon at Jamia Masjid Al Qadsia, Hafiz Saeed said that he was ‘fighting for the freedom of Pakistan and Kashmir’. He 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,” he 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 was involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan. “Peace cannot be established in Pakistan if terrorists such as Kulbhushan 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.
Published in Daily Times, November 25th 2017.
