A NOTORIOUS Islamist militant accused of last year’s terrorist strike on Mumbai in India was yesterday released by a high court in Pakistan.
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed’s release raised fears of renewed friction between the two south Asian nuclear-armed neighbours.
Mr Saeed is the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group and a former university professor. He was arrested in a crackdown by Pakistan’s authorities after the killing of 166 people in the Mumbai attack by Pakistan-based militants last November.
The US and UK had increased pressure on Pakistan for a comprehensive crackdown, fearing the assault could provoke Indian military strikes on suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan.
In December, a UN Security Council committee placed Mr Saeed and a charity he headed known as Jamaat-ud-Dawa on a list of people and groups linked to al-Qaeda or the Taliban. In its verdict the Punjab high court “ordered that the detention of Hafiz Saeed was a violation of the constitution and the law of this country”, said Mr Saeed’s lawyer.
India was quick to vent its disappointment over a release, which many officials view as confirmation that Pakistan has no will to curb militant activities and is an untrustworthy negotiating partner.Home minister Palaniappan Chidambaramsaid: “We are unhappy that Pakistan does not show the degree of seriousness and commitment that it should to bring to justice the perpetrators of the crime.”
Western diplomats warned the release would make it harder for India and Pakistan to move rapidly towards reconciliation after last month’s parliamentary elections in India handed a strong mandate to the ruling Congress party.
A senior Pakistani official said the release under a court order was outside the government’s control. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)