india

Updated: Jul 18, 2019 17:48 IST

India on Thursday refused to attach great significance to 2008 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s arrest due to “mere symbolic nature” of similar action in the past by the Pakistani state.

“We have seen this drama more than 8 times since 2001, question is, whether this will be more than a cosmetic exercise, whetherHafiz Saeed will be tried and sentenced for his terror activities” said foreign ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. He added that Saeed has been released by Pakistan every time on “some grounds or other”.

The counter terrorism department of Pakistan’s Punjab state arrested Hafiz Saeed, the chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, from Gujranwala town on Wednesday.

Kumar made it clear that symbolic action against Saeed and other terrorist organizations operating from Pakistani soil will not be enough; “Pakistan sometimes takes symbolic action because it has to show the world,” said Kumar while reiterating that only “verifiable, credible and irreversible” action against Saeed will impress India and the rest of the world.

Hafiz Saeed’s JuD is believed to the front for Lashkar, which is responsible for the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. Lashkar-e-Taiba has been declared as a foreign terrorist organization by the US. Saeed was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US treasury department with a $10 million award for any information that brings him to justice. Washington had warned Islamabad of “repercussions” after he was released from house arrest in 2017.

“India has long maintained that United Nations Security Council 1267 provisions pertaining to listing and proscription of known terror entities and individuals must be effectively and sincerely enforced by all member states,” he said, adding that effective action was an “obligation” on the part of all UN member states including Pakistan.

India has handed over several dossiers to Pakistan detailing the role of Hafiz Saeed and Lashkar in the Mumbai attacks. Islamabad has said that Saeed had been cleared by Pakistani courts and India needs to provide more evidence.