Incidentally, this is not the first time that Kashmiri separatists rubbed shoulders with Saeed.
A moderate Hurriyat delegation led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq had met Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in December during a visit to Pakistan, much to the chagrin of the Indian security agencies.
During Kashmir Solidarity Day protests in Lahore earlier this month, Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mir Waiz Umer Farooq had addressed a huge gathering on telephone from Srinagar. This meeting was addressed by Hafiz Saeed among other hawks belonging to radical Islamist parties. The Jamaat and JuD workers were chanting "al Jehad" slogans at this public gathering.
The government has been criticized for allowing Hurriyat leaders to visit Pakistan in the light of their meetings with Saeed and Syed Salahuddin.
"It is not unusual for Malik to make inflammatory remarks in Pakistan, but this time he has gone too far," a senior intelligence official told Times of India.
"Saeed has an unofficial carte blanche from the Pakistani agencies to make incendiary statements against India. Given the sentiments and circumstances of Afzal's hanging, it was expected that he would exploit it to attack New Delhi yet again. Though Kashmiri separatists tend to echo anti-India chants when in Pakistan....but for Yasin to be seen on the same platform as Saeed is overlooking the latter's culpability in India's worst-ever terror attack," the official added.
"Considering the possibility of his meeting terrorists and criticizing the government during more such trips abroad, there is a good reason to seize his passport," said the official.
The government had recently denied Mirwaiz Umer Farooq permission to attend the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) meet in Cairo as Kashmiri separatists have earlier used the platform to attack New Delhi's Kashmir policy.
