US expresses strong concern about Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed running for office in Pakistan

Washington, December 20: The United States on Wednesday expressed its concerns about Mumbai terror attacks mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed who announced of competing in general elections for office in Pakistan in 2018.

 

Notably, the US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert while expressing its concern about Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed said that Washington considers him a mastermind of Mumbai attacks in which few Americans were killed.

“A man who is affiliated with LeT, Lashkar-e Tayyiba, one of the terror groups. It’s a group that the United States Government considers to be a terror organization” Heather Nauert said while referring to LeT and JuD. She further said that the Trump administration was in contact with Islamabad regarding the release of Saeed.

Nauert further said, “I want to remind folks we have a $10 Million Reward for Justice program that would reward for information that would bring him to justice. So I want to make that clear so that everybody knows, $10 million out for this guy, and we would certainly have concerns about him running for office.”

She said the JuD Chief's release by Pakistan from house arrest last month and now reports of him running for office is a matter of concern for Washington. When asked a question whether the US has shared any tangible evidence of his activities related to terror activities, Nauert said that the Saeed-led group was a terror organization and Washington would definitely substantiate its claims regarding the allegations.

“I can tell you that his organization – his organization that was responsible for those attacks – is considered a foreign terror organization. It’s considered a foreign terror organization by the U.S. Government for a reason and for a good reason. I would imagine that if we had any intelligence, we would certainly share it with the Pakistanis on that front” Nauert concluded.

Hafiz Saeed had been accused by the United States and India of masterminding the 2008 attacks on the Indian financial capital Mumbai that killed 166 people. In 2012, the United States announced a bounty of $10 million on Hafiz Saeed for his alleged role in the attack in which six American citizens were also killed. But Jamaat-ud-Dawah Chief had earlier said, his organization will contest the general elections under the banner of the Milli Muslim League, which is yet to be registered with the Election Commission.