India sends note verbale to Pakistan in protest against Hafiz Saeed's rally

India has taken a strong note of 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed's recent rally in Lahore on the occasion of so-called 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' and sent a note verbale to Pakistan in protest against the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief's gathering, sources said on Friday.

Sources added that India registered a strong protest against the continued use of Pakistani soil by extremist and terrorist elements to freely propagate and promote violence against New Delhi.

They further said that the Indian government once again called upon the Pakistani government to fulfill its international obligations and abide by it bilateral commitment to not allow any territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India, in any manner.

On February 5, Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist, had taken part in the rally in Lahore as part of the so-called 'Kashmir Solidarity Day.'

India, has, time and again, protested against Pakistan for harbouring Saeed, who is widely believed to have plotted the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. New Delhi's stand on Saeed has been supported by the international community.

India has strongly condemned JuD chief's free movement in Pakistan and raised the matter with Islamabad several times.

In October last year, India lodged a strong protest against Pakistan Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Noor-Ul-Haq Qadri for sharing dias with UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed at a public programme, sources said.

In that month itself, the JuD and FIF were no longer mentioned in the list of banned outfits after an ordinance by the Pakistani government that prohibited them under a UN resolution lapsed.

Saeed's JuD, along with several other terror outfits such as al-Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FiF), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a part of UN Security Council sanctions list.

Last September, while addressing a gathering at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York, India's First Secretary in Permanent Mission of India to UN, Eenam Gambhir questioned the freedom experienced by Saeed in Pakistan as he continued to set up candidates for electoral office.