Arrest of Hafiz Saeed not mandatory under UN resolution

ISLAMABAD: The United States has issued a strongly worded statement calling for re-arrest of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) Chief Hafiz Saeed but the government sources in Islamabad claim Pakistan is under no obligation of international law to keep Saeed under arrest in the absence of any evidence against him.

In a statement, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, in a statement, expressed deep concern over the release of Hafiz Saeed who is accused by India and the United States of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attack. Hafiz Saeed, who had been under house arrest since January, was ordered freed by the Lahore High Court this week.

“LeT is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent civilians in terrorist attacks, including a number of American citizens. The Pakistani government should make sure that he is arrested and charged for his crimes,” Nauert said in a statement released in Washington. The statement added that in May 2008, the United States Department of the Treasury declared Saeed a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224. However in Islamabad, officials and expert claim that US law is not applicable on Pakistan and Islamabad is only obliged to follow the United Nations.

Saeed was also individually designated by the United Nations under UNSCR 1267 in December 2008 following the November 2008 Mumbai attack in which six American citizens were killed. “Arrest of Hafiz Saeed is not an obligation for Pakistan under UNSCR 1267,” said a source adding that arrest of a person without any proven crime or evidence is violation of human rights.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office has yet to formally respond to the US statement but experts said there are only three obligations under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 which deals with sanctions imposed on designated entities.

Firstly, all states are required to freeze the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities. Secondly, all states are required to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories by designated individuals. Thirdly, all states are required to prevent the direct or indirect supply of arms and military training to designated individuals and entities.

Sources said Pakistan is fulfilling all three obligations under 1267 as Saeed is not allowed any international travel while all his personal or LeT accounts are frozen. Additionally, Saeed is not allowed purchase of arms etc.

But the State Department maintains, “LeT and several of its front organisations, leaders, and operatives remain under both State Department and Treasury Department sanctions. Since 2012, the United States has offered a US $10 million‎ reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.”

Official sources in Islamabad claim that Saeed was placed under house arrest under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) as there was no charges against him in Pakistani courts. They said Pakistan has been asking for evidence against Saeed from India since 2008 but New Delhi has failed to provide any direct link between Mumbai attacks and Hafiz Saeed.

Pakistan has been repeatedly detaining and freeing Saeed off and on since 2008. Hafiz Saeed has repeatedly denied any involvement in attacks that left 166 dead.

Meanwhile, while responding to the State Department, Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) spokesman Yahya Mujahid said the US had announced $10 million reward, but was unable to produce any evidence against Hafiz Saeed in the last five years.

The JuD spokesman further said that Pakistani courts were free and expressing concerns over their verdict was akin to interfering in the internal matters of the country. Mujahid added that Hafiz Saeed had condemned and denied his involvement in the Mumbai attacks. According to the spokesman, Hafiz Saeed is a preacher of peace and torchbearer for humanity.