White House Warns Pakistan About Consequences of Releasing Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba

The White House stated on Saturday, December 4, that the release of Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the jihadist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, would damage relations between Washington and Islamabad unless Pakistan takes action to arrest and prosecute him. Sarah Sanders, the White House spokesperson, condemned Hafiz Muhammad Saeed's release as 'severely' problematic, stating that this action demonstrated that Pakistan's claims regarding preventing the harboring of terrorists within its territory are false. Washington has described Saeed as a 'notorious terrorist' involved in the deaths of U.S. citizens. The United States has called for the prosecution of this extremist figure for the Mumbai attacks in 2008, during which ten armed men shot civilians, resulting in the deaths of 166 people, including American citizens. Saeed has denied any connection to the deadly attacks in this metropolis, which is considered India's economic center. A court in Pakistan ruled for Saeed's release last Wednesday. Pakistani officials had stated last February that the house arrest order for Hafiz Saeed, accused of promoting and planning the Mumbai attacks, had been issued. This decision came after years of pressure from the U.S. and India, and it was suggested that it might reduce tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. Saeed leads a group called Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which Washington claims is a cover for the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Lashkar-e-Taiba is one of the largest and most organized jihadist groups in South Asia. It is said that Saeed, along with Abdullah Azzam and Zafar Iqbal, founded this group. In December 2008, Pakistani forces arrested several suspects in the Mumbai attacks during a raid on a jihadist camp in Muzaffarabad, located in Pakistani-administered Kashmir. At that time, it was reported that Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, was among those arrested. The White House statement indicated that if Hafiz Saeed is not re-arrested and prosecuted for his crimes, not only will the relations between the two countries suffer, but Islamabad's international standing will also be questioned. Reuters reports that this is the 'first time' the United States has publicly stated that the court ruling for Hafiz Saeed's release will have consequences for the relations between the two countries.