Mumbai attacks mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed has said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unexpected visit to the country has greatly hurt the sentiments of the
Mumbai attacks mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed has said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unexpected visit to the country has greatly hurt the sentiments of the nation.
In a series of tweets from his official handle, Saeed – who orchestrated the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 — said, “Personal friendship aside, Mr Modi is a murderer and brutal killer of Muslims, and occupier of Kashmir,” adding, that he shouldn’t have been welcomed.
He noted that hours before Mr Modi’s arrival in Lahore from Afghanistan, he had openly declared Pakistan to be the cause of terrorism and instability in the region.
“Modi’s sudden visit and extraordinary treatment of him by the Pakistan government rekindled the painful memories of the relatives of terrorism victims in Pakistan and the people of Kashmir,” he lamented.
The neighbouring country only intends to safeguard its interests and bring the region under its influence, the JuD chief contended.
“We must not forget this is the same month in which East Pakistan got separated from us and Modi admitted to have conspired that standing in Dhaka,” Saeed wrote on Twitter. Meanwhile, on Sunday, leader of the opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah said that it would have been better if the Indian PM would have visited Pakistan for a scheduled meeting. Mr Shah said that the ties between Pakistan and India were getting sour each day and the situation at the border areas was hostile as well. “Modi’s visit to Pakistan is a good thing”, he added. The opposition leader said that the Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should take all politicians into confidence on such issues. Earlier, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise visit to Pakistan. Bilawal Bhutto said the only solution to Pakistan-India issues was constant communication between the two countries. He said his party was happy with Prime Minister Modi’s visit. Welcoming Mr Modi’s visit, PTI chief Imran Khan said he had also invited the Indian premier to Pakistan during his recent visit to India. Mr Khan said continuation of meetings between the heads of two countries will have positive impact on the bilateral relations of both neighbours, adding that improvement in Pakistan-India ties was inevitable for sustainable peace in the region. On Friday, Mr Modi, who was in Kabul earlier in the day, decided to stop in Lahore for a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart. It was the first time an Indian premier had stepped foot on Pakistani soil in about 12 years and was seen by analysts as a step towards normalising ties between the two neighbours which have fought three wars. The last visit to Pakistan by an Indian Prime Minister was in 2004 by then leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who is credited with bringing about a thaw in relations with Islamabad. The host that time was also Mr Sharif. Mr Sharif and Mr Modi have had a stop-start diplomatic relationship since the Indian premier’s surprise invitation to Nawaz Sharif to his inauguration last May. A brief meeting between PM Nawaz Sharif and his Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the UN climate change summit in Paris on November 30, followed by talks between the two countries’ National Security Advisers in Bangkok, appeared to have broken the ice.
