JuD lambasts Pakistan minister for 'state hand' remark

The Hafiz Sayeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa on Thursday hit out at a Pakistani provincial minister over his startling revelations made on Wednesday.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah in an interview to the BBC Urdu service on Wednesday said that action was not possible against the proscribed organisations like JuD and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) as the "state itself is involved" in their activities.

The minister's statement drew ire on Thursday of the JuD, one of the groups he mentioned. It said Pakistan's Supreme Court had earlier stated that there was no ban on the JuD led by Hafiz Sayeed, India's most wanted man.

"Rana is deliberately creating confusion in order to support a concocted agenda," a JuD spokesman said.

Rana Sanaullah told the media outside the Punjab assembly that his statement was quoted out of context by the channel while he made it in the context of the state's policy on Kashmir. He said he would not comment further on the issue.

The minister in his BBC interview had said that legal action against the proscribed organisations like the JuD and JeM was not possible since "state itself" is involved.

Rana said these organisations are banned, but "how can someone proceed with legal action when state is itself involved in the case?"

India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to hand over JeM chief Masood Azhar, who it has claimed to be the mastermind of Pathankot terror attack that left seven Indian security men killed.

JuD chief Hafiz Sayeed is the most wanted terrorist in India. He is believed to be the mastermind behind the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks that left over 160 people dead, including many foreign nationals.

--IANS

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