NEW DELHI, Mar 7 � India today rejected Pakistan�s claim that Hafiz Saeed, a suspected 26/11 mastermind, did not figure in the Foreign Secretary-level talks, saying the �unhindered freedom� he enjoyed there was �strongly� raised during the parleys, reports PTI.
Expressing �surprise� at the statement of Pakistan which also claimed that the issue of arrest of Saeed was not taken up during the February 25 talks here, the External Affairs Ministry said India has been demanding action against the Jamaat-ud-Dawah(JuD) chief since the barbaric and dastardly attacks in Mumbai in 2008.
�Saeed�s activities including his recent vitriolic and venomous statements aimed at fomenting further acts of terrorism against India and the unhindered public space and freedom he enjoys in Pakistan was raised strongly by India during the Foreign Secretary-level talks,� External Affairs Ministry spokesman said in a statement here.
Talking to reporters in Multan, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had claimed that India never demanded the arrest of Saeed nor discussed the issue at the talks between Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir.
In response to queries regarding the reported statement of Qureshi, the spokesman, while expressing �surprise�, said India has been demanding action against Saeed, one of the masterminds of the Mumbai terrorist strikes, since the barbaric and dastardly attacks took place.
�A dossier containing a compilation of evidence on the involvement of Saeed in the terrorist attacks was handed over to Pakistan on August 21, 2009 and his name featured prominently in yet another dossier handed over to the Pakistan Foreign Secretary during the talks on February 25, 2010,� the ministry statement said.
