The United States today refused to comment on Pakistan-based terrorist and Jamaat-ul-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed’s remark that ‘US was the real enemy of Pakistan’.
State Department spokesperson John Kirby said that he would not dignify comments made by an avowed terrorist.
“I am not going to dignify the comments of an avowed terrorist one way or the other. And we continue to work with Pakistan and continue to urge Pakistan to take steps to shut down access to areas inside their borders to terrorists, to terrorist individuals and to terrorist groups,” he said.
Kirby also said that US wants Pakistan to take action against the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
“I would refer you to the Pakistani authorities on that. Obviously, as I've said before, we continue to want to see the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack brought to justice,” he replied when asked about whether the State Department had any concrete information on the perpetrators of the 26/11.
Kirby further noted that despite US declaring a bounty on his head, Washington could not achieve anything for the last five years.
Calling the US Pakistan’s real enemy, Saeed had reportedly said that it is time Pakistan shifts its focus from the US to building a relationship with India.
“The US is after us to reduce the size of our army, to reduce our nuclear arsenal. They are doing this at our enemy’s behest,” Saeed had said.
Saeed had even said that Pakistan should start focusing on building a relation with India, adding that the United States would block any such effort.
Saeed carries a bounty of USD 10 million (over Rs 66 crore) on his head for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people, including six Americans.
Saeed, who is a major irritant in the already strained relationship between India and Pakistan, runs the Lahore-based Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), which he claims to be running for humanitarian charity. The JuD has been blacklisted by the US, which has described it as a foreign terrorist organisation.
