Pakistan says Indian info on 26/11 not enough to act against Saeed

Pakistan on Thursday said that the information provided so far by India on the Mumbai attacks was not enough for it to take legal action against outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. "It needs to be underlined that the dossiers and information received from India apropos Saeed are not really enough ... to proceed legally as is being expected," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a weekly news briefing in Islamabad. 

Basit was responding to a question about statements made in the Indian Parliament about the lack of action by Pakistani authorities against Saeed. Basit said Pakistan was proceeding in the case of Saeed "according to our own laws." Pakistan was also moving forward with the trial of five LeT operatives arrested in connection with the Mumbai attacks, he said, adding he could not comment in details as the mater is subjudice. Saeed, who was put under house arrest in December last year in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, was freed on June 2 on the orders of the Lahore High Court. The Federal and Punjab provincial governments last month filed petitions before the Supreme Court against the release of Saeed.

The apex court on August 3 indefinitely adjourned the hearing of the petitions challenging Saeed's release after the Advocate General representing Punjab government in the case resigned. Home Minister P Chidambaram had last week said that India had provided "enough evidence" against the JuD chief in three dossiers it gave to Islamabad. A fresh dossier of evidence on the Mumbai attacks was recently handed over by India to Pakistan, asking it to expedite the prosecution of Saeed.

The dossier, comprising a seven-page summary and 60 pages of annexures, contains replies to queries posed by Pakistan with regard to investigation and legal process involved in the 26/11 attacks blamed on Lashkar-e-Tayiba. Five LeT operatives, including its operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and communications expert Zarar Shah, are currently being tried by an anti-terror court in Rawalpindi in connection with the Mumbai attacks. The court has adjourned the trial till August 29.