India takes note of Hafiz Saeed's recent rally in Lahore, raises matter with Pakistan

India has reacted to 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed's recent rally in Lahore and has sent a note verbale on the same to Pakistan. Saeed's rally was in Lahore on February 5. India raised the matter with Pakistan on February 6, a day after the rally took place.

Saeed, the co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the chief of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah (JuD), had taken part in the rally as part of the Kashmir solidarity day.

In the note verbale sent by the Ministry of External Affairs to Pakistan High Commission, India registered its "strong protest at the continued use of Pakistan controlled territory by extremist and terrorist elements" to "freely propagate and promote violence and terror against India."

Further, India "once again" called upon the "government of Pakistan to fulfill its international obligations" and "abide by its bilateral committment to not allow any territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India in any manner".

Time and again, India has condemned Saeed's free movement in Pakistan and has raised the matter with the neighbouring country. Last year, at the United Nation, India slammed Pakistan for its support to terror and asked how is that a "UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed enjoys a free run inside Pakistan and spews venom and sets up candidates for electoral office?"

JuD is a UN-designated terrorist organisation with a $10 million dollar bounty by the US on its founder Hafiz Saeed.

Despite Islamabad saying it wants peace with India, Pakistani ministers have been sharing the dais with Hafiz Saeed. On September 30, 2018, Pakistan's Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Minister Noor-ul-Haq Qadri was spotted with Hafiz Saeed. Both were seen making anti-India statements.

In December 2018, a video surfaced showing Pakistan's Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi openly expressing Pak government's support to Hafiz Saeed and his organization. 

JuD has also opened centres in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in collaboration with a prominent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader. 

JuD and Hafiz Saeed's NGO Falah-e-Insaniyat are no longer in the list of Pakistan’s banned organizations. Pakistan ordinance proscribed them lapsed. 

In January, India sent a number of note verbales to Pakistan on a host of issues including the matter of Indian Diplomats' harassment, killing of Indian fisherman and stopping of Indian cargo flights to Afghanistan.