NEW DELHI: With the Pakistan Government not showing much enthusiasm to prosecute Jamaat-ud-Dawah supremo Hafiz Saeed despite the US bounty, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna reiterated on Friday that Pakistan had been given enough evidence to convict the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, also accused of being the mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
The United States on Monday had announced a $10-million bounty on Saeed, for information leading to his conviction. India had welcomed the move officially, but there was also some consternation at the timing, as it came a week prior to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s maiden visit to India. “The Home Ministry has provided to Pakistan every details of Hafiz Saeed’s involvement in the planning and execution of the terror attack,” Krishna told reporters in Bangalore. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told lawmakers that this was an “internal issue” and that “if there is any concrete proof against Saeed then it should be provided to Pakistan, which has an independent judiciary”. In response, Krishna said that Pakistan could decide if there is enough evidence by having a judicial inquiry.
“The amount of denial would not exonerate them unless there is a judicial inquiry into the whole episode whereby responsibilities can be fixed. But unfortunately, the Pakistan government has not thought it proper to investigate this,” he said.
However, Pakistan Foreign Office rejected India’s claims saying that any action would have been taken against the JuD leader, if the Pak authorities had evidence.