The BJP today demanded to know the Centre’s response on the comments of Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that Islamabad needs ‘substantial’ evidence against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed to try him in a court of law.
India has given all the evidence that Saeed was involved in the Mumbai attacks but Pakistan is not taking any action against him. Pakistan’s attitude is the main roadblock in the relations between the two nations,’ BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.
He said the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks must be tried in India and Pakistan should hand over Saeed to India.’But Pakistan has consistenly refused to do that,’ he alleged.
Mr Javadekar said the Central government ‘owes an explanation’ on Mr Gilani’s comments.
Yesterday, launching ‘Dargah diplomacy’ to bridge the trust deficit between India and Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari agreed to carry forward the dialogue process between the two countries and act against terrorism.
Dr Singh, during his 40-minute one-on-one meeting with Mr Zardari, stressed the need to bring to book the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, including Saeed, and said it was a major issue by which the Indian people would judge the progress in bilateral ties.
Mr Zardari, who was in India on a ‘private visit’ along with his family members, primarily to offer prayers at the Dargah of 16th Century Sufi saint Moinuddin Chisti at Ajmer in Rajasthan, was invited for the lunch by the Prime Minister.
