Shinde raised ’93 blasts too
Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Monday that the need for Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice was “emphasised as being of paramount importance” as both countries move forward with the peace process.
Mr Shinde said that during the bilateral talks Mr Malik had offered to provide the FIRs and judgments pertaining to the three occasions when Saeed was arrested and let off by the courts. “When we pursued this matter, they have given us papers pertaining to the detentions of Saeed in 2002 and 2009,” he said.
Top government officials said the first case against Saeed goes back to 2002, when Pakistan put him under detention for links with the LeT. Incidentally, Saeed had already quit the LeT in 2001 and was acquitted after his wife Memoona filed a petition citing his “illegal” detention. The other two cases in 2009 were related to Saeed’s association with the Jamaat-ud-Dawa. But the Pakistani courts acquitted him saying the JuD is only on Pakistan’s watchlist and is not banned by that country, the sources said.
“Saeed roams freely in Lahore and has organised a series of rallies where he has delivered hate speeches against India. Despite evidences submitted on his role in 26/11 and tapes of his hate speeches, Pakistan has not acted against him on these two counts,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the home minister also took up with Mr Malik the issue of non-compliance with long-pending red notices against absconders in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, inaction against mafia don Dawood Ibrahim and concerted infiltration attempts by terrorists across the Line of Control in J&K. “On a larger plane, it was stated that terrorism is affecting all aspects of the relationship and that we must deal with this menace effectively,” Mr Shinde said.
Meanwhile, raising the issue in the Upper House, BJP deputy leader Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that it was a deliberate design of the Pakistan government to not take action against Saeed. He alleged that Mr Shinde was conspicuously silent on many contentious issues during the visit.
“Why did you not take up the matter after he tried to raise the Babri Masjid issue, which is direct interference in the internal affairs of our country,” he said. Mr Prasad asked why the government “failed” to tell Mr Malik that the Allahabad high court has already given its verdict and those who claim it to be a mosque have been unable to prove it.
This comment triggered an angry reaction from Mr Sabir Ali, a member of BJP ally JD(U), who trooped into the Well. Mr Ali could only be removed after JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari spoke to him and prevailed on him to return to his seat.
Later, members in the Rajya Sabha demanded a detailed discussion on the issue which was accepted by deputy chairman P.J. Kurien.
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