Hafiz Saeed’s rant keeps forces on toes

A day after Hafiz Saeed warned of more Pathankot-style attacks in India, MEA spokesman Vikas Swarup said it was for Pakistan to “rein in” the Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief.

“Hafiz Saeed is a globally-designated international terrorist. His claim that his front organisations are carrying out charitable work is not even a fig leaf... He indulges in terrorist activities and terrorist financing. It should be a matter of grave concern to everyone that a terrorist like Saeed and his associates continue to enjoy the freedom to indulge in their activities,” Mr Swarup said, adding that New Delhi was waiting to see what action would be taken to bring the perpetrators of the Pathankot attack to justice.

He added that the national security advisers of India and Pakistan as well as the foreign secretaries were in touch with each other.

In his latest round of tweets on @HafeezSaeedJUD, Saeed even hailed Islamabad’s decision to not allow Indian actor Anupam Kher into Pakistan.

The video, released by JuD ahead of “Kashmir Solidarity Day”, with an image of Pakistan Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif and an Urdu caption saying “Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan”, also carries photos and videos of Afzal Guru, hanged to death by India for his role in the 2011 Parliament attack, and Kahmiri separatist leader Masarat Alam, besides others.

Intelligence sources said they are fully alert to any cross-border threats and were aware of the online propaganda. The video was posted on the Twitter page of JuD. While Pakistan has banned media coverage of JuD in November, it has claimed the organisation is not banned.

In his latest provocative statements and threats, Saeed had said, while addressing a rally in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir: “You have only seen one attack on Pathankot. Matters could easily escalate.” He alleged that Indian troops were committing “genocide” on Kashmiris and added: “Don’t they have a right to carry out Pathankot-style attacks for their defence ”.

At Wednesday’s rally, Saeed also lauded Kashmiri militant leader Syed Salahuddin, who heads the United Jihad Council (UJC), that claimed responsibility for the January 2 attack on the Pathankot IAF base. Last month, Saeed appeared on a private Pakistani TV channel’s talk show despite Pakistan’s ban on media coverage of militant outfits like the JuD and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.