One Mumbai not enough: Hafiz Saeed

NEW DELHI: Barely days before the Indo-Pak engagement, Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed has surfaced, inciting jihad against India. At a ‘Kashmir solidarity’ rally in Lahore, Saeed, accused by India of masterminding the Mumbai terror attack, was back at spewing venom against India saying jihadis were willing to go a long way for liberating Kashmir.

The leader of the banned outfit, who clearly timed his rally ahead of the Indo-Pak talks, told a huge gathering of his supporters that jihad was the only option left as India would never let go of Kashmir. Threatening India with dire consequences he further said that India would suffer the same fate over Kashmir as the Soviet Union in
Afghanistan and the US reverses in Afghanistan.

Tapes of the rally, which have been accessed by a television channel, showed Saeed’s supporters waving Klashnikovs and shouting anti-India slogans. The rally was taken out by JuD and is seen as a clear instance of the Pakistani establishment’s reluctance to take steps against the group, which has been proscribed by the UNSC as a front for the Lashkar-e-Toiba.

In his public rant, Saeed also dismissed the Mumbai terror attacks saying ``ek Bombay kya hota hai’’. He even went to the ridiculous length of suggesting that India and Pakistan should renegotiate the Partition of India and discuss the creation of Bangladesh. Saying that the London conference on Afghanistan signaled the defeat of the US and allied forces, he said India would suffer a similar fate in Kashmir.

With the Mumbai terror attacks forming the core of Indian concerns on terror, New Delhi is sure to raise the matter of Saeed openly inciting terror against India. Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao had said in London on Monday that India was disturbed by the calls for jihad that were being brazenly made against India even in the face of New Delhi’s attempt to establish a channel of communication with Islamabad.

Saeed’s call for jihad also comes in the backdrop of the Pakistani government’s stated intention of introducing Kashmir as the core issue in the foreign secretary level talks. Though New Delhi has said all issues could be raised, it has also said that the meeting would not be a forum for conflict resolution. The Indian side in an effort to put pressure on Pakistan over terror has been saying that the future of talks depends on Pakistan’s action against terror. But Saeed inciting jihad in Lahore just ahead of the talks is not seen as boding well for the India-Pakistan engagement.