Ahead of Zardari visit, India ups pressure over Hafiz Saeed

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Bolstered by the US unveiling a US$10 million bounty for the capture of the Mumbai terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed, India is expected to up pressure for action against the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) chief when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday.

Zardari is in India on a ‘private’ visit to the Ajmer shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. He is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his 7, Race Course Road residence prior to his trip to Ajmer.

Welcoming the announcement, external affairs minister S.M. Krishna on Tuesday said it “reflects the commitment of India and the US to bring perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks to justice and continuing efforts to combat terrorism”.

India has, for long, been asking Pakistan to arrest and take action against the Jammat ud Dawa chief and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba founder.

While Union home minister P. Chidambaram has accused Pakistan of being “in denial mode” on restricting the terror suspect’s freedom of movement despite submitting exhaustive dossiers on his anti-India invective, both sides are keen not to let the long-standing terror issue affect a feel-good visit.

‘US is frustrated’

The JuD chief lashed out at news of his bounty, appearing to mock the US, telling the Al Jazeera news channel, “We are not hiding in caves for bounties to be set on finding us.”

“I think the US is frustrated because we are taking our countrywide protests against the resumption of NATO supplies and drone strikes. I believe the US has very little knowledge and is basing its decisions on information provided by India.”