Palestine conveys 'deep regrets' to India, recalls envoy for sharing stage with JuD chief Hafiz Saeed

The Government of India today registered a strong protest with the Palestinian authorities after their envoy was clicked sharing stage with JuD chief Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan recently.

Image Credit: Omar R Quraishi/Twitter

New Delhi: Palestine on Saturday expressed ''deep regret'' after India strongly condemned the Palestinian envoy's presence at a rally organised by 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan recently.

"The Palestinian side has conveyed deep regrets over the incident and assured the Government of India (GoI) that they are taking serious cognizance of their Ambassador's presence at this event," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

In a strongly-worded demarche to the Palestinian government, India had reminded them that Saeed is a UN-designated terrorist and the ambassador's association with the JuD chief is "unacceptable".

"Government of India has strongly conveyed to the Palestinian side that the Palestinian Ambassador in Pakistan's association with terrorist Hafiz Saeed, who is designated by the United Nations, at an event in Rawalpindi on 29.12.2017, is unacceptable," the MEA statement read.

Apparently miffed with the photos of Palestinian Ambassador sharing the dais with the co-founder of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) Hafiz Saeed, the Government of India had earlier registered a strong protest with the Palestinian authorities.

Acknowledging India's concerns, the Palestinian authorities said that ''they will deal with this matter appropriately.''

''It was also conveyed that Palestine highly values its relationship with India and stands with us in the war against terrorism and will not engage with those who commit acts of terror against India, '' the MEA statement said.

''Palestine has decided to recall its Ambassador to Pakistan, Walid Abu Ali, for sharing the stage with Hafiz Saeed,'' Palestinian Ambassador to India Adnan Abu Al Haija later confirmed.

Raveesh Kumar, the MEA spokesperson, later tweeted the GoI's reaction to the incident on Twitter.  

Press release on India’s reaction over the Palestinian Ambassador in Pakistan’s association with terrorist Hafiz Saeed. https://t.co/tkrMPmcpNm — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) December 30, 2017

Miffed over the incident, India had earlier warned that the matter will be taken up with the Palestinian authorities.

Saeed, Jama'at-ud-Da'wah (JuD) chief and co-founder of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), was photographed with Palestinian envoy Walid Abu Ali, attending a rally organised by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council in Liaquat Bagh in Pakistani's Rawalpindi on Friday morning.

The image of the two sharing the stage together was widely shared on the social media and it soon became viral.

Ambassador of Palestine to Pakistan Waleed Abu Ali attends a large rally organized by the Difah-e-Pakistan Council in Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi - seen with JUD chief Hafiz Saeed pic.twitter.com/d8UXLFK8Mm — omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) December 29, 2017

According to a report in Pakistan's The Nation daily, the Rawalpindi central leadership of Difa-e-Pakistan-Council has announced a countrywide movement for the liberation of Kashmir and Palestine.

The report quoted Ali as saying that "with Pakistan's tremendous support to Palestine cause, we do not feel alone".

Saeed, who was freed from house arrest in November by a Pakistan court, carries a bounty of USD 10 million and has been declared a global terrorist by the United Nations. 

Since his release, Saeed has made several anti-India and anti-US statements at various rallies across Pakistan, invoking Khulbhushan Jadhav and Kashmir.

All this comes after India voted with the rest of the world earlier in December in favour of an Arab resolution in the UN General Assembly rejecting US President Donald Trump's decision recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

India had clarified that it stands for an independent Palestine.

(With Agency Inputs)