Times of India on April 5 reported that the Abdul Rehman Makki, the brother-in-law
of
Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT)
chief
Hafiz
Mohammad
Saeed
is
a
conduit
between
LeT
and
Taliban.
Government
sources
say
that
one
of
the
main
reasons
for
the
US
announcing
a
reward
of
USD
two
million
for
Makki
is
said
to
be
his
proximity
to
Taliban
supreme
commander
Mullah
Omar
and
al
Qaeda's
Ayman
al-Zawahiri.
According
to
Indian
authorities,
Makki
had
regularly
participated
in
meetings
along
the
Afghanistan-Pakistan
border
that
also
featured
Omar
and
al-Zawahiri
and
in
which
it
was
decided
to
attack
Indian
interests
in
Kabul,
including
its
embassy.
Meanwhile, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed mocked the United States during
a
defiant
media
conference
close
to
the
country's
military
headquarters
in
Rawalpindi,
a
day
after
the
US
slapped
a
USD
10
million
bounty
on
him,
reports
Dawn.
"I
am
here,
I
am
visible.
America
should
give
that
reward
money
to
me,"
said
Hafiz
Mohammad
Saeed,
referring
to
the
fact
that
the
bounty
was
given
to
a
man
whose
whereabouts
are
not
a
mystery.
"I
will
be
in
Lahore
tomorrow.
America
can
contact
me
whenever
it
wants
to,"
he
dared.
Further, Pakistan rejected the US bounty on Saeed saying that
the
United
States
must
provide
“concrete
evidence”
if
it
wanted
Islamabad
to
act
against
Saeed.
Foreign
Ministry
spokesman
Abdul
Basit
said
Islamabad
would
rather
be
presented
with
evidence
about
Hafiz
Saeed
than
have
a
public
discussion
on
the
matter.
“In
a
democratic
country
like
Pakistan,
where
judiciary
is
independent,
evidence
against
anyone
must
withstand
judicial
scrutiny,”
the
spokesman
added
in
a
statement.
Meanwhile, the US said that it was looking for evidence that
could
be
used
to
put
Hafiz
Saeed
behind
bars,
reports
Daily
Times.
State
Department
Deputy
Spokesman
Mark
Toner
said
Washington
was
working
to
assist
Pakistan
and
provide
the
country
with
the
evidence
to
arrest
Saeed
and
try
him
in
a
court
of
law.
Toner
said
the
US
had
intelligence
and
information
but
not
“concrete
evidence”
–
as
demanded
by
Pakistan
–
that
might
assist
a
judicial
inquiry
to
prosecute
the
Saeed
for
his
alleged
role
in
November
26,
2008
Mumbai
attacks. |
