Hafiz Saeed can play active role in solving Kashmir issue, says Pakistan Army Chief

Pakistan based international terror outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief and the Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, as every other citizen of Pakistan, can play an active role in finding a solution to the Kashmir conflict, opined Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday according to ANI.

Bajwa was speaking on topics like counter-terrorism operations and foreign policy at ‘in-camera session’ of the Senate Committee of the Whole in Islamabad.

He said, “Like every other Pakistani, Saeed can also take up the Kashmir cause.” 

His statement comes just days after former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had called Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JuD patriotic and expressed his willingness to forge an alliance with them for the safety and security of Pakistan.

Saeed is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and has been designated a terrorist by the UN. He is carrying a USD 10 million bounty on his head. His JuD was declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014. 

“Saeed, who was released by Pakistan from house arrest last November resulting in an angry reaction from the US, was the mastermind of the Mumbai terrorist attacks and is the leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba,” PTI quoted State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert as saying. 

The United States had also strongly condemned his release and had called for his immediate re-arrest and prosecution warning that the release can have an impact on the bilateral ties between the two countries.

The White House had asked Pakistan to immediately re-arrest and prosecute the Mumbai attack mastermind. 

(With Agency inputs)