Members of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs have voiced concerns that the United States may conduct a unilateral action against Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed like the one it carried out against al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, a BBC report said.
In a meeting chaired by Nuzhat Sadiq, Senator Farhatullah Babar of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) reminded the committee that the US had announced $10 million bounty on the head of the JuD chief, adding that the US had, similarly, announced $25 million on Bin Laden’s head before it conducted a raid on his Abbottabad compound in 2011.
Hafiz Saeed was released by the Lahore High Court on November 23, after remaining under detention for almost 10 months since January this year.
After Saeed’s walked free, the US asked Pakistan to re-arrest him, saying it was “deeply concerned” with the release of the JuD chief, who carries a bounty of $10 million announced by the US for his role in terror activities.
“Lashkar-e-Taiba is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent civilians in terrorist attacks, including a number of American citizens,” US State Department spokesman Heather Nauert had said, referring to the party which is considered to be a front for JuD.
“The Pakistani government should make sure that he is arrested and charged for his crimes,” Nauert had added.
India had also slammed the release of the JuD chief.
India claims the JuD head was the mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead.
Earlier this month, the JuD chief announced to run for office in the 2018 general elections, a development that drew concerns of the US.