Pakistan’s PM addresses Hafiz Saeed as ‘Sir’ and says there is no case against him
- Pakistan PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said action can be taken against an individual only when there is a case against them
- Abbasi also didn’t think there’s a possibility of war between India and Pakistan despite sabre rattling by his country’s foreign minister
Pakistan’s prime minister yesterday referred to 26/11 Mumbai terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed as ‘sahib’, or ‘sir’, and said there is no case against him in Pakistan so no action can be taken against him.
In an interview with Pakistan’s Geo TV, the country’s prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said action can be taken against an individual only when there is a case against them.
“Action is taken when there is a case registered [against someone],” said Abbasi, when asked about Saeed, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief, who was recently released from house arrest on the order of the Lahore high court.
Abbasi also didn’t think there’s a possibility of war between India and Pakistan despite sabre rattling by his country’s foreign minister.
“We always said that the door for talks with India is open,” said Abbasi.
As for US-Pakistan relations, that have plumbed new depths lately, Abbasi said a dialogue with the US military is still ongoing, despite US President Donald Trump’s New Year’s Day tweet slamming Pakistan for “lies and deceit” in return of billions of dollars in aid. He however cautioned that no one must do anything to threaten Pakistan’s sovereignty.
“When your sovereignty is threatened then you get ready to fight a war with the entire world,” said Abbasi.
Earlier in January, due to growing pressure from the US administration to crack down on terror outfits, Pakistan interior ministry blacklisted 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and several other terror organizations.
Abbasi had said he is mystified by US threats to cut off funding to Pakistan, saying the US financial assistance to the country is very, very insignificant while the country is in the forefront of the war on terror.
