India unhappy over release of Mumbai attack suspect

India has strongly criticized the release of Lashkar cheif, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. He was believed to be one of the masterminds behind the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.

Pakistan has released Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the hardline politico-religious front of the Lashkar-e-Taiba), one of the suspects in the attacks on Mumbai on Nov. 26, a move that has left India questioning the sincerity of Islamabad in fighting terrorism. Saeed was on house arrest since Dec. 11 and was released after five months and 20 days. The Lahore high court ordered the release as it said that it had not received substantial evidence to continue his detention. The petitioners' counsel A K Dogar termed the arrest as unconstituional and a violation of human rights, reports ANI. The decision met with strong disapproval from Indian ministers. The Ministry of External Affairs said:

"These actions by Pakistan raise questions about sincerity of Pakistan's investigations into the conspiracy that planned, launched and executed the terrorist attack on Mumbai. Pakistan has yet to report the progress of the investigations that she had committed to undertake into that conspiracy.”

Home Minister, P Chidambaram, expressed concern about the stand taken by Pakistan in the Mumbai attacks case, and said:

“We are unhappy that Pakistan does not show the degree of seriousness and commitment that it should to bring to justice perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attack.”

Hafiz Saeed openly preached jihad against India and is accused of fomenting the youth of the terrorist outfit, LeT against India. He is also said to have overseen the training of the squad that was involved in the 26/11 attacks, reports The Times of India. This comes at a time when the relations between the two countries are already strained and the decision has acted has a setback for the peace process that had been reinstated between the two countries. Also, many experts believe that the offensive action undertaken by Pakistan against the Taliban in the Swat valley has led the country to believe that it can ebb the actions against terrorism elsewhere.