Saeed has blood on his hands: Ex-CIA dy chief

WASHINGTON: Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has “blood on his hands” and wants to bring extremism into the mainstream politics of Pakistan, a former top American spymaster has said.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder, who has a $10 million US bounty on his head for terror activities, was released from house arrest by Pakistan on Friday.

“Saeed is a terrorist. Worked with the LeT, a Kashmiri militant group, and al-Qaida on attacks,” Michael Morell, former CIA deputy director who has also served twice as its acting director, tweeted. “He has blood on his hands. Now wants to bring extremism into the political mainstream in Pakistan.”

The fire-brand cleric’s release came ahead of the ninth anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 166 people, including six US nationals, were killed. A concerned US has asked the Pakistani government to re-arrest and charge Saeed for his crimes. It also asked Pakistan to ensure that the LeT leader is behind bars.

“NO! JuD is NOT tied to Islamic State. What a rookie...

Seriously. Hafiz Saeed’s Release Completes the Political Mainstreaming of Jihadists in Pakistan,” tweeted Christine Fair, a well-known South Asian expert on terrorist groups.

NBC news said Saeed’s release could once again sour US relations with Pakistan.