Gilani says no evidence against Hafiz
14 May 2012 3:53 AM GMT
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that there was insufficient evidence to arrest LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and even if the Mumbai terror attacks mastermind is detained he will be released by the courts.
Gilani said there was insufficient evidence to warrant the arrest of Saeed, who moves freely in Pakistan and heads outlawed Jamaat-ud Dawah.
'If you arrest him, that means he will be released by the courts. For the courts you need more evidence,' Gilani said in London. 'You know the judiciary is completely independent in Pakistan.'
The US has offered a USD 10 million reward that could lead to arrest or conviction of Saeed, accused of plotting the Mumbai attacks that claimed 166 lives in November, 2008.
Gilani also denied reports of presence of al Qaeda's new leader Ayman al-Zawahiri inside Pakistan.
'Why should I think he (Zawahiri) is in Pakistan?' he asked. Noting that the CIA and Pakistan's ISI were co-operating closely, he said: 'They should work together and if there is any credible, actionable information, please share with us so that we should catch hold of him. You have claimed that somebody has said that he is in Pakistan: if there is any information, please share with us.'
Asked for his own view on whether Zawahiri was in Pakistan, the prime minister replied: 'We don't think so.'Â US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has recently said that Zawahiri was in Pakistan.
PAK PREMIER TO FILE APPEAL NEXT WEEK
Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani will file an appeal in the Supreme Court next week against his conviction for contempt, challenging one of the charges in the judgement that he 'ridiculed' the judiciary for striking down a graft amnesty, a media report said on Sunday. Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan and his team are drafting the appeal, the report quoted its sources as saying.
The main point in the appeal will be that 'one of the charges in the judgement was not mentioned when Gilani was indicted in February,' the sources said.
In the chargesheet, it was not mentioned that Gilani had ridiculed the apex court's December 2009 judgement striking down a graft amnesty that had benefited President Asif Ali Zardari and over 8,000 others. But the court, in its judgement convicting the Premier on April 26, mentioned the word 'ridicule'.
Sources said Ahsan would also object to different parts of the court's detailed judgement and challenge an additional note written by Justice Asif Khosa, a member of the seven-judge bench that convicted Gilani.
Gilani was convicted for contempt for refusing to act on orders to revive graft cases in Switzerland against Zardari.
Gilani said there was insufficient evidence to warrant the arrest of Saeed, who moves freely in Pakistan and heads outlawed Jamaat-ud Dawah.
'If you arrest him, that means he will be released by the courts. For the courts you need more evidence,' Gilani said in London. 'You know the judiciary is completely independent in Pakistan.'
The US has offered a USD 10 million reward that could lead to arrest or conviction of Saeed, accused of plotting the Mumbai attacks that claimed 166 lives in November, 2008.
Gilani also denied reports of presence of al Qaeda's new leader Ayman al-Zawahiri inside Pakistan.
'Why should I think he (Zawahiri) is in Pakistan?' he asked. Noting that the CIA and Pakistan's ISI were co-operating closely, he said: 'They should work together and if there is any credible, actionable information, please share with us so that we should catch hold of him. You have claimed that somebody has said that he is in Pakistan: if there is any information, please share with us.'
Asked for his own view on whether Zawahiri was in Pakistan, the prime minister replied: 'We don't think so.'Â US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has recently said that Zawahiri was in Pakistan.
PAK PREMIER TO FILE APPEAL NEXT WEEK
Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani will file an appeal in the Supreme Court next week against his conviction for contempt, challenging one of the charges in the judgement that he 'ridiculed' the judiciary for striking down a graft amnesty, a media report said on Sunday. Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan and his team are drafting the appeal, the report quoted its sources as saying.
The main point in the appeal will be that 'one of the charges in the judgement was not mentioned when Gilani was indicted in February,' the sources said.
In the chargesheet, it was not mentioned that Gilani had ridiculed the apex court's December 2009 judgement striking down a graft amnesty that had benefited President Asif Ali Zardari and over 8,000 others. But the court, in its judgement convicting the Premier on April 26, mentioned the word 'ridicule'.
Sources said Ahsan would also object to different parts of the court's detailed judgement and challenge an additional note written by Justice Asif Khosa, a member of the seven-judge bench that convicted Gilani.
Gilani was convicted for contempt for refusing to act on orders to revive graft cases in Switzerland against Zardari.
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