Hafiz Saeed wants Pakistan to declare warn on India

A day after the Indian Army killed 13 terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed vowed to avenge the killings. In a video released after the Army’s operation, a jittery Saeed can be heard asking the Pakistani government to declare war on India. Saeed also lashed out at his country’s federal government for not heeding to the concerns of Kashmiri people.

He said that the government should effectively raise the issue of “atrocities against Kashmiris” by the Indian Army at all platforms. He said that the government should take note of the situation prevailing in the Valley.

Saeed noted that the world including the United Nations has turned a blind eye towards the youths of Kashmir. He said that he is not worried about the world’s silence on the cause but what has disappointed him is the Pakistan government’s inaction. “Leave all the works, it is not the right time for self-projection … Kashmiris are calling, they are calling Pakistan, they are looking towards Pakistan,” he said. Saeed also made an appeal to the people to support the two-day bandh call given by Hurriyat leaders in Kashmir.

The Army has been conducting operations in Kashmir under its ‘Operation Allout’ to eliminate terror groups from the Valley who are targeting innocent civilians and defence installations. In one of the worst round of clashes between armed officials and terrorists this year, security forces killed 13 militants in Shophian and Anantnag districts yesterday. While one terrorist was killed in Dialgam in Anantnag district, one was arrested there. Seven terrorists were killed in Dragad village of Shopian district and five in Kachdoora village in the same district. Three soldiers were also martyred in the gunbattle.

In 2018 alone, security forces have neutralised about 50 terrorists.

Hafiz Saeed, who carries a bounty of USD 10 million by the US, runs Lahore-based terror group JuD. He claims that the JuD is involved in humanitarian activities across Pakistan. The group has been blacklisted by the US.

However, if all goes well, Hafiz Saeed may contest the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. The Islamabad High Court had last month set aside the Election Commission’s decision to refuse recognition to JuD’s political front Milli Muslim League (MML) as a political party, paving the way for his shot at the possibility of him running for the post of Pakistan’s Prime Minister.