Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday expressed
disappointment over India's reaction to the Lahore High Court
quashing cases registered under anti-terror law against 26/11
mastermind Hafiz Saeed, saying that questioning decisions made
by the country's independent judiciary was "not a wise step".
Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told state-run news channel
that India has acknowledged that the quashing of cases against
the Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief by the High Court has "no link with
the Mumbai attacks".
"These are totally different cases," he added.
Pakistan's judiciary, like the judiciary in other
democratic nations, is totally independent, said Basit.
India's move to question the decisions made by the independent
judiciary of Pakistan is "not a wise step", he said.
The Lahore High Court yesterday ordered authorities to
quash two First Information Reports registered against Saeed
under the Anti-Terrorism Act for allegedly inciting people to
wage jehad against the US, Israel and India and for seeking
funds for the JuD.
The court issued its order after the Assistant Advocate
General of Punjab province acknowledged that the JuD had not
formally been banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
India has criticised the move and reiterated its demand
for action to be taken against Saeed, also the founder of the
banned Lashker-e-Taiba.
Replying to a question, Basit welcomed the fact that
India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had agreed with
Pakistan's position that terrorism affected both countries and
was a big challenge for the whole region.
"It is the need of the hour that all regional countries
jointly create atmosphere in which they can unitedly fight
against terrorism," Basit said.
Islamabad has time and again suggested that the Joint
Anti-Terrorism Mechanism between Pakistan and India needs to
be activated so that both sides can fight terrorism, he said.
The time has come for both countries to move forward and
avoid the "blame game and point scoring" so that they can
effectively defeat this common enemy, Basit said.
Responding to another question about "foreign
intervention" in Balochistan province, he said Foreign
Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had made it clear that "there is
no doubt that outside hands are involved in Balochistan".
Pakistani leaders, including Interior Minister Rehman
Malik, have repeatedly accused India of fomenting unrest in
Balochistan, a charge denied by New Delhi.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 18:15