India concerned over Pak failure in acting against Hafiz

A day after Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed publicly warned at a rally in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) of more “Pathankot style attacks’’, India on Thursday gave vent to its dismay and concern over the Pakistani government’s failure in taking action against him.

“Hafiz Saeed is a globally designated terrorist and it should be a matter of grave concern to everyone that he is roaming free in Pakistan,’’ External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said here on Thursday.

He said there were reports in October last that electronic coverage of Saeed’s rallies had been banned but it is clear that he is addressing public rallies and these are also being beamed on electronic media.

Swarup said the authorities in Pakistan need to take action against him and  put a check on his activities. He expressed concerned that Saeed was enjoying freedom in the neighbouring country, despite  the US declaring a bounty on him.  

Even after a month into the Pathankot airbase terror strike and submission of evidence to Pakistan from India, there is no official communication of any action being taken on it. “The two National Security Advisers (NSAs) and the two Foreign Secretaries (FS) are in touch, but a mutually convenient date for holding FS-level talks has still not being agreed upon,’’ the spokesperson said.

While India has demanded action against the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which was behind the Pathankot attack, Pakistan has sought more evidence to prove that the terrorists involved in the attack were from its soil. It is becoming increasingly clear that New Delhi would not show any initiative to reschedule FS-level talks, which were slated in mid-January but there would not be any hindrance in encouraging people-to-people contact between the two countries.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had on Tuesday said in Jaipur that most terror attacks in India originate in Pakistan and urged the neighbour to show sincerity in its efforts to put a crackdown on terrorism.