Will act against Hafiz Saeed if India can prove charges in court: Pakistan

Pakistan will take action against Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafiz Saeed — the alleged mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks — if India provides evidence against him that stands in court, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said today.

"Hafiz Saeed was in custody and the evidence against him could not hold in a court of law. We have said even now that we will be happy to look at any evidence against him that holds in a court of law," Khar told a TV news channel. Asked if Pakistan will act if India provides evidence against Saeed, she replied: "Yes, there will definitely (be action)."

Saeed, who now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, was placed under house arrest for less than six months after the UNSC declared the JuD a front for the LeT in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks in November 2008. He was freed on the orders of the Lahore High Court.

The LeT founder was subsequently detained for incidents that occurred in Pakistan but let off again. Though the US offered a $10-million bounty for him earlier this year, Saeed lives openly in Lahore and has organised a series of rallies at which he has spoken out against the US and India.

During the interview, Khar said that the "environment with India became very bad" after the Mumbai terror attacks. "We passed through a difficult phase," she said.

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