New Delhi: As Lashkar e Toiba founder Hafiz Saeed renewed the call for a jihad against New Delhi, the government Wednesday said there are reports that the group continues to plan anti-India activities and reminded Pakistan to honor its anti-terror pledge.
“There are reports that Lashkar e Toiba continues to plan and carry out anti-India activities,” Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
She was responding to a query by Congress MP Naveen Jindal on whether Pakistan had been giving military explosives and intelligence training to terrorists for boosting militancy in Kashmir.
“Terrorism emanating from territory under Pakistan’s control remains a core concern for us,” Preneet Kaur said.
She added that India had sought a firm and abiding commitment from Pakistan not to allow territory under its control to be used for anti-India activities.
The minister told parliament that the issue of terrorism figured in talks between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan nearly a month ago with both sides resolving to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
She added that the international community recognized Pakistan’s links with cross-border terrorism in India and the responsibility of the government of Pakistan to put an end to it.
A few days ago, Saeed, the suspected mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and the chief of the Lashkar e Toiba-turned-Jamaat ud Dawa, told a gathering at a town near Lahore that the “jihad” in Jammu and Kashmir was “bearing fruit” and India would soon meet its “logical end”.
“The US has had to give in in Afghanistan because of the power of jihad and now India will also surrender for the same reason,” he said.
India has repeatedly drawn attention to anti-India rhetoric and activities of Saeed, but the Pakistan government has cited legal difficulties in taking action against him.
