New piecemeal cases against Hafiz,US says: act on 26/11

The two FIRs lodged at police stations in Faisalabad against Saeed and a close aide,Abu Jandal,under a provision of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997,accuse him of “inciting” people to wage jehad against “infidels”,a senior police officer told PTI. The founder of the banned Lashker-e-Toiba,Saeed is accused of asking people to wage jehad at iftaar dinners and at a meeting with JuD activists on August 27 and 28.

However,Pakistani authorities confirmed that they had not received any instructions to arrest Saeed. In fact,he continued his activities as usual and delivered a sermon during Friday prayers at a JuD mosque in Lahore,where he reportedly accused Pakistan of toeing the US line on terrorism and buckling under Indian pressure.

Roemer’s call for tough action comes ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers of India and Pakistan in New York,on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session later this month.

During their meeting,the US envoy and Prime Minister discussed the planned visits of Singh to the US,apart from a broad range of bilateral and global issues. Roemer conveyed US President Barack Obama’s “warm greetings and anticipation” for seeing Singh in Pittsburgh for the G-20 meeting.

“The upcoming official state visit,the first by a foreign leader during the Obama Administration,is a testament to the vital importance of the US-India strategic partnership,” he said.

Roemer also called on Chidambaram “to review the important next steps” which India and the US can take following the minister’s successful working visit to the US.