Asia

Home page

Asia

Pakistan says U.S. has no evidence against militant leader

05 April 2012 19:08 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Pakistan can not take action against Hafeez Saeed, leader of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa group, in the absence of solid evidences, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, two days after the U.S. announced a reward of 10 million dollars for his arrest or information which leads to his arrest, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The U.S. has offered a reward of 10 million dollars for Saeed, the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) that was blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and a bounty of two million dollars for his deputy Abdul Rahman Makki.

Saeed, who now leads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa group, was accused of masterminding the Mumai attacks.

Foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said it is "strange" that the U.S. has offered a bounty of millions of dollars for evidence and information against Saeed and Makki.

"We have clearly stated our position that there is no concrete evidence against Saeed," the spokesman said at a weekly press briefing while replying to a volley of questions.

"Pakistan would prefer to have concrete evidence to initiate a legal process but in the absence of that, we cannot do anything," the spokesman said.

Also on Wednesday Pakistan had sought "concrete evidence" against the two men from the U.S. in a Foreign Ministry statement while issuing the country’s first formal reaction.

Basit said that even the U.S. does not possess any evidence linking the JuD chief to terrorism.

The clarification about the bounty issued by the State Department spokesman on Wednesday made it clear that "even the U.S. does not possess evidence against the two individuals," the Pakistani spokesman said.

Basit did not agree with a question that the U.S. bounty was aimed at influencing Pakistan’s ongoing parliamentary review of its relationship with the U.S. and NATO.

Pakistan called for the review after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in air strikes by NATO fighter jets in November 2011.

A joint session of parliament is debating new terms of engagement with the U.S. and the process is likely to be completed this month.

Replying to a question, Basit said he was not aware if there is a provision for offering a bounty under international law.

"A national government can take any step that is not in violation of the international law. I am not sure whether a bounty is covered under international law," he added.

Basit refused to state whether Saeed had figured in discussions on Wednesday between Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides, saying only that the two leaders had discussed "all issues".

Issues such as the bounty for Saeed "have to be addressed through a legal procedure" and it is not "desirable to get into public discussion" on such matters, the spokesman said.

The spokesman also shot down the impression that the U.S. and Pakistan could reach some sort of understanding on Saeed on the lines of the agreement on drone strikes that was finalized under the previous military regime.

"When we say that we do not have any concrete evidence to proceed legally against any individual, I do not see any discrepancy. The government of Pakistan can not proceed against any individual without undeniable evidence. I see no discrepancy or dichotomy in our stated position and what we have actually been saying to the U.S.," Basit said.

"Obviously, Pakistan would not come under any pressure because ours is a principled and legal position," the spokesman said. He said Pakistan believes the U.S. has respect for Pakistan’s judicial system and both countries should be mindful of each other ’s limitations, he added.