NEW DELHI: India today cautiously welcomed Pakistan’s action of bringing Mumbai 26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed and his colleagues under the ambit of its anti-terrorism law.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesman Vikas Swarup said.today that "effective action mandated internationally against (Hafiz Saeed) and his terrorist organisations and colleagues is a logical first step in bringing them to justice, and in ridding (South Asia) of the twin menaces of terrorism and violent extremism."
Vikas Swarup was responding to a question on the listing of Saeed by Pakistan under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Hafiz Saeed heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) which planned and executed the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, which left over 160 persons dead, and hundreds injured. He is presently under house arrest in Pakistan. Last week the government of Punjab state in Pakistan included Hafiz Saeed his close aide Qazi Kashif in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
Three others, Abdullah Obaid from Faisalabad, Zafar Iqbal and Abdur Rehman Abid from Muridke were also added to the list. There are about 1,450 names in the Fourth Schedule of ATA.
Inclusion of the Mumbai attacks mastermind in the ATA list bars him from leaving the country and amounts to Pakistan’s acknowledgement that he was involved in terrorist activities.
Hafiz Saeed and four men have been under house arrest in Lahore since January 30.
The JuD chief carries a bounty of $10 million on his head.