Hafiz Saeed takes on Rajnath Singh, slams Sartaj Aziz’s India visit

Srinagar: Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, co-founder of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and the chief or amir of Jama’at-ud-Da’wah, which has had sanctions placed against it as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations, was in Muzaffarabad on Thursday.

Donning pheran, the traditional Kashmiri attire, the LeT chief while addressing a rally in the capital of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, renewed his pledge to take what he said was just struggle for freedom by the people of Kashmir to its logical conclusion. He also criticised Pakistan Prime Minister’s adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz for visiting India alleging he brought insult to his country and Kashmir. “Aziz brought insult for Pakistan and Kashmir,” Saeed, the 68-year-old internationally designated terrorist who is wanted also in India for his role in the Mumbai terror attack in which 164 people, including six Americans, were killed, said.

Reacting to Union home minister Rajnath Singh’s recent statement that if Pakistan does not stop cross-border terrorism it will soon be in ten pieces, Saeed said it was “open declaration of war by India” against the neighbouring country. He said Mr. Singh’s “dhamki” (threat) will be replied to by him in Lahore soon. He urged Islamabad not to send any official delegations to India in future.

As he appeared at the dais to address a well attended rally, an unknown Kashmiri presented him with a pheran and then helped him in putting it on. Saeed then raised his hands and was joined by some prominent faces in Pakistan and PoK politics and militant outfits including Hizb-ul-Mujahedin chief Syed Salahuddin, Abdur Rehman Maki, Abdul Aziz Ali and Pakistan Jamaat-i-Islami secretary general Liaquat Baloch and all vowed to support the Kashmiri “freedom struggle” to the last man.

Saeed also asked the people of PoK to stand by the “struggle” of fellow Kashmiris on the Indian side of the State and hoped the government will extend its full support to the people of Kashmir as it was its “duty”. The rally named as ‘Kashmir Conference’ was organised by the JUD’s local unit, reports from across the Line of Control said.