The White House on Saturday criticised Pakistan's release of Hafiz Saeed, a controversial cleric who's accused of being involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks and also wanted by the US.
Describing the move as a "step in the wrong direction," the White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the ties between the two countries would be strained if Saeed wasn't re-arrested, and warned Pakistan of damaging its reputation at the global stage.
“Saeed’s release, after Pakistan’s failure to prosecute or charge him, sends a deeply troubling message about Pakistan’s commitment to combating international terrorism and belies Pakistani claims that it will not provide sanctuary for terrorists on its soil,” Huckabee said.
Saeed is allegedly the founder of Jamaat ud Dawa, a banned outfit that India claims to be linked to the 2008 attack in Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed.
Designated as a terrorist by the US justice department, the US has a $10m reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
He was released on November 24 after a three-judge panel in Pakistan scraped his house arrest in the eastern city of Lahore. The move triggered an outrage in Indian establishment.
Saeed’s spokesman, Yahya Mujahid, described the release as a “victory of truth”.
“Hafiz Saeed was under house arrest on baseless allegations and jail officials came to his home last night and told him that he is now free,” he said.
Jamaat-ud-Dawa is suspected to be affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group. India says LeT carried out the ghastly Mumbai attacks, pinning the blame for orchestrating the entire plot on Saeed.
The Trump administration has doubled up pressure on Pakistan to fight extremists and bust their hideouts in Pakistani territory. The campaign appeared to produce some success this year when Pakistani security forces assisted with the release of a Taliban-held US-Canadian family after five years in captivity.
However, US officials cautioned that move needed to be followed by additional measures to prove the country’s commitment.
Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Asif said in a visit to Washington in October his country was willing to cooperate fully with the Trump administration. He said Pakistan had wiped out militant hideouts with little help from the US, which has restricted military assistance in recent years.
In recent past, Pakistan came down heavily on extremist groups in the restive tribal regions, launching an ambitious military operation called Zarb e Azb in 2014. In the next two years, nearly 500 Pakistani soldiers were killed on the frontlines. And in retaliation, Pakistani forces neutralised 3,500 militants.
Yet the US in August said it would hold up $255m in military assistance for Pakistan until it cracked down on extremist groups that threaten neighboring Afghanistan.
Donald Trump’s tough words about Pakistan infuriated Islamabad and triggered anti-US protests that Pakistani police used teargas to disperse.
