INDIA HAS GIVEN NO EVIDENCE AGAINST HAFIZ SAEED: PAK PM

NEW DELHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Shah idKhaq an Abbasi has said India has provided “no evidence” against Hafiz Saeed, days after US warned there would be repercussions for bilateral relations if the Pakistan government does not re-arrest and prosecute the Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief.

Noting th a tS aeedh ad recently been freed from house arrest by a judicial panel as there were “no charges” against him, Abbasi Abbasi told Bloomberg in an interview that Saaed should be prosecuted internationally if the charges against him can be substantiated. “The court, a threejudge bench, has released him (Saeed) saying there are no charges against him; the country has a law you know,” said Abbasi, who became premier after PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the Supreme Court over graft charges. “Prosecute him internationally if there is substance to these charges — these are accusations only. No evidence has been provided by India,” he said.

Saeed, who has been accused by India and the US of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, was freed after 10 months of house arrest by a panel of judges from the Lahore high court who concluded Pakistan authorities had not provided any evidence against him. India has repeatedly said it has provided adequate evidence to Pakistan a gains tS aeed,t he founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the attacks in Mumbai.

Saeed is considered to be close to the Pakistani military and intelligence set-up,whichhasfor long been accused of using the LeT as a proxy to target India.

Asked if Pakistan would act against Taliban leaders who have allegedly lived for years in the southwestern city of Quetta, Abbasi said, “We will act against them if they really exist.” Abbasi also suggested that US President Donald Trump’s troop increase and support to Afghanistan will end in failure.

HAFIZ SAEED, WHO HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF MASTERMINDING THE MUMBAI ATTACKS, WAS FREED AFTER 10 MONTHS OF HOUSE ARREST