India today slammed Pakistan over the release of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed, the prime accused in the Mumbai attack, saying it demonstrates Islamabad's lack of seriousness in its commitment to bring to justice the perpetrators of the carnage.
"It is a commentary on the commitment of Pakistan to investigate the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack," Home Minister P Chidambaram said, reacting to Saeed's release from detention in Lahore.
"We are unhappy that Pakistan does not show the degree of seriousness and commitment that it should to bring to justice perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attack," he told reporters when asked to comment on the development. He, however, underlined that the development will not cause any setback to India's investigations into the attack.
Saeed was put under house arrest on December 11 last year after the UN Security Council banned JUD, declaring it a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is blamed by India for the November 26 Mumbai attacks.
India feels that Pakistan did not press any strong charges against Saeed enabling the Lahore High Court to set him free.
"We feel that anything that has to do with somebody who has committed any crime and is not properly dealt with, it is lack of seriousness," Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said.
Noting that the whole world is looking at this "very major issue", she said India has given enough proof to Pakistan and "time and again" sought cooperation in punishing the guilty.
Kaur underlined that Pakistan itself is facing the problem and it should, therefore, be "sensitive" to this issue. She also said that India wants to have good relations with Pakistan.
