india

Updated: Dec 30, 2017 14:40 IST

India reacted with anger after Palestine’s envoy to Pakistan joined Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed at a rally organised by jihadi groups on Friday, just days after New Delhi backed a UN resolution that denounced Washington’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Photos of the Palestinian ambassador to Pakistan, Walid Abu Ali, sharing the stage with Saeed and addressing the rally organised by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council at Liaqat Bagh in Rawalpindi were circulated on social media on Friday. The rally was organised to condemn the US move on Jerusalem.

The development triggered an angry response from the external affairs ministry, with spokesperson Raveesh Kumar saying in a brief statement: “We are taking up the matter strongly with the Palestinian ambassador in New Delhi and with the Palestinian authorities.”

The statement noted that the Palestinian envoy had been seen at the rally “organised by the JuD chief and mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack Hafiz Saeed”.

Hafiz Saeed with the Palestinian envoy at the rally. ( Pic from a JuD-run Twitter account )

Officials said a strongly worded demarche would be sent to the Palestinian government.

The external affairs ministry was particularly incensed as the development came less than 10 days after India joined 127 other members of the United Nations to back a resolution criticising US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The countries disregarded Trump’s threat to cut aid to countries that voted for the resolution.

India’s decision to back the resolution prompted a protest from Israel, a key ally in defence and security matters. New Delhi explained the vote by saying its position on Palestine is “independent and consistent” and “shaped by our views and interests, and not determined by any third country”.

India and Palestine are also discussing a possible visit to Ramallah by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February – seen by some here as a conciliatory gesture in connection with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to India in January. If Modi’s visit goes ahead, it will be his first to Palestine.

Officials here also noted that the Palestinian envoy was present when Saeed used the “Tahafuz Baitul Maqdas” rally organised by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) to launch a broadside against India and to rake up the Kashmir issue by linking it to Palestine.

“We consider it our prime responsibility to liberate Kashmir from India. We will free Kashmir in fulfilment of Jinnah’s dream,” Saeed said, speaking in Urdu.

Saeed also referred to the controversial meeting between Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national sentenced to death for alleged involvement in spying, and his wife and mother in Islamabad on December 25.

“Pakistan let the family of Kulbhushan meet him out of kindness and goodwill, but India sent them with spy devices,” he claimed.

India and Pakistan are engaged in a spat over the treatment meted out to Jadhav’s mother and wife, whose shoes were taken away for tests after Pakistani officials claimed they contained a “metal chip”. India has rubbished these claims as “absurd”.

The rally in Rawalpindi featured several jihadi leaders such as Saifullah Khalid of the Milli Muslim League, a political party formed by Saeed, and Abdul Rehman Makki of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), who condemned the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The event was attended by thousands, including members of the JuD.

Photos on social media showed the Palestinian envoy seated next to Saeed and addressing the large gathering. Several speakers at the gathering referred to the Kashmir issue and made anti-India remarks. Saeed also called on Muslim nations to act in the defence of Jerusalem.

The DPC is a grouping of some 40 extremist and jihadi groups that was formed by Hafiz Saeed and other extremists in 2012. It has campaigned for long for snapping ties with India and the US.