India is consistent in its policy towards terrorism: Jitendra Singh

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh on Tuesday downplayed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed's defence of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader and 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, saying it has no affect on New Delhi's policy as far as dealing with terrorism is concerned.

"What Hafiz Saaed or somebody says does not actually affect the Government of India's policy which is being consistent as far as terrorism is concerned, as far as separatism is concerned," Singh said.

"And, therefore, I don't think we should very seriously react or ponder about what somebody says about such issues, because, there is an absolute clarity, conviction and consistency in our approach towards issues related to terrorism," he added.

The JuD chief had yesterday said that India was trying to put pressure on Pakistan through the U.N. and the U.S. to punish Lakhvi for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

According to reports, Saeed said that Lakhvi is innocent as there has been no evidence against him for his involvement in the case.

The JuD chief's comments came after New Delhi took up Lakhvi's matter with the UN.

India had earlier requested the UN to raise this matter with Pakistan and said that Lakhvi's release was in violation of the norms of the global body.