Palestine recalls envoy for sharing stage with Hafiz Saeed, invites 'great guest' PM Modi

Palestine on Saturday recalled its envoy in Pakistan for sharing a stage with JuD chief Hafiz Saeed after India raised objections to the incident.

New Delhi: Palestine on Saturday recalled its envoy in Pakistan for sharing a stage with Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, after the Government of India raised objections to the incident and called it "unacceptable".

Palestinian Ambassador to Pakistan Walid Abu Ali has been recalled for attending a rally organised by JuD chief and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, the Palestinian envoy to India Adnan Abu Al Haija confirmed the Indian authorities as the developments unfolded.

Asserting that Ali's action was not "acceptable" given the close and friendly ties between India and Palestine, the top envoy said that the former has been given a couple of days to pack and return from Islamabad.

"The Palestine government has told Ali that he was not anymore its envoy to Pakistan," Haija said.

Haija, however, said that Ali was not aware who Hafiz Saeed was.

''Our Ambassador doesn't know this person. When he started speaking, he asked who is this person. Our Ambassador's speech was after him, he made his speech and left. For us, even with that, it is not accepted and a decision has been taken,'' the Palestinian Ambassador to India said.

While also acknowledging New Delhi's unconditional support to Palestine's cause, Haija said that his government will never engage with those who commit acts of terror against India.

''We are supporting India in its fight against terrorism and because of that my Government decided to directly call our Ambassador to go back home, '' Adnan Abu Al Haija said.

On the behalf of his government, the Palestinian envoy also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Palestine.

''Mr Modi is a great guest to Palestine, we welcome him there. I hope soon he will visit Palestine. We are waiting for his visit,'' Haija said.

The Palestinian authorities also expressed "deep regrets" about the incident.

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

India has earlier raised strong objections to Palestinian side that the Palestinian Ambassador in Pakistan, Walid Abu Ali, shared a stage with terrorist Hafiz Saeed at an event in Rawalpindi recently.

"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 December 12, is unacceptable," the MEA said earlier. 

"The concerns were conveyed both in New Delhi to the Palestinian Ambassador and in Ramallah to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, State of Palestine," it said.

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

A controversy erupted after Palestine Ambassador to Pakistan Waleed Abu Ali was clicked sharing a stage with Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Saeed at a gathering organised by Difa-e-Pakistan Council, an umbrella organisation of hardline right-wing groups.

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 had 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)