Islamabad: Pakistan has not received any
"official communication" from the US about the USD 10 million
bounty offered for Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Mohammad
Saeed, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Tuesday.
"I have learnt from the media that a bounty has been
offered for his head. Basically, we have not received any
official communication from the US or from any other quarter,"
Malik told a TV news channel this evening.
He said he had requested the Foreign Ministry to verify
the report about the US bounty.
"Till there is verification, there is nothing that I can
say officially," he said in response to a question on whether
the government intended to act against Saeed after the
announcement of the bounty under the US Rewards for Justice
programme.
Malik said he could not comment on the basis of media
reports.
"Let`s see if it is confirmed, then we can ask them (the
US) why this bounty was offered," he said.
The procedure in such matters is for information to be
sent through "diplomatic channels or through the Interpol",
Malik said.
"We have not seen any communication through official
channels (or) diplomatic channels. So I will still insist that
we should wait for the official communication," he added.
Malik`s remarks were the first official reaction to the
bounty offered for Saeed, who now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawah.
Saeed, accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks,
was included by the US among the five most wanted terrorist
leaders.
PTI
