London: Mumbai terror mastermind and
outlawed JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed does not give much
credence to the confessions made by Ajmal Kasab in the ongoing
26/11 trial and claimed he had no hand in the terror attack.
Saeed, who is reportedly guarded by two policemen and
moves around Lahore as a free man, said it is not fair to
"base everything" on statements made by Kasab in custody, and
blamed `Indian propaganda` for the accusations against him.
Insisting that he had no connection to Lashkar-e-
Toiba, Saeed said his charity had hundreds of offices across
Pakistan. He laughed and asked: "They make me out to be the
biggest and most evil terrorist. Do I look like one to you?"
Speaking to London-based The Independent newspaper,
Saeed, one of India`s most wanted terrorist, said: "He (Kasab)
has been giving different stories... In court, he gave this
statement. He has been saying so many things? We do not know.
Do you think that it is fair that you base everything on this
man who is in custody?"
On India`s charge that he was involved in the Mumbai
attacks, Saeed said in a raised voice: "We are Pakistanis and
our organisations work under the law of Pakistan. Even though
we try to abide by Pakistani law, there have been such serious
allegations that I was put under arrest. A lot of people who
live round my house were arrested.
"My movements were restricted. My freedom of speech
was restricted. All these limits have been put on me because
of the pressure of foreign governments. It isn`t important
that I happen to be a Pakistani citizen. I did not violate any
Pakistani law. I am restricted only because India wants me to
be restricted."
Recalling that a group named `Deccan Mujahideen` had
claimed responsibility for the Mumbai attacks, Saeed said:
"But within no time, India blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba and India
did not even pay attention to the claim from the Deccan
Mujahideen. This `proof` was not accepted by the (Pakistani)
court. They found there was no evidence for the claims against
us... Soon after the Mumbai attacks, we called a press
conference. We said we were not involved. We condemned this."
Putting forth his perspective of the situation in
south Asia, Saeed said: "In order to understand, you have to
realise the precise situation between India and Pakistan.
There is a deep conflict. India has been trying to support the
separatists in Balochistan. There are so many insurgencies
going on in India itself, dividing and separating the country.
Kashmir has been fighting for freedom".
PTI
