New Delhi:
Immediately after the India-Pakistan talks last week, the man who India wants access to was seen in a television interview issuing the latest in a series of threats against India.
"No doubt," Hafiz Saeed, who masterminded the 26/11 attacks, said in an interview to a Pakistani channel when asked whether people should go to Kashmir for 'jihad' against India.
India's irritation was expressed clearly on Tuesday, as Home Minister P Chidambaram, said "We are clear on the role Hafiz Sayeed. Based on the evidence given, any responsible government would have investigated the role. Far from investigating the role, Pakistan is allowing to him make these statements. It is very unfortunate."
India has given evidence of Saeed's role in the 26/11 in documents - some of which were handed to Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir at that last round of talks, the first after five months. At a press conference after the talks, Bashir dismissed those documents against Saeed as "literature" sticking to Pakistan's stand that India has not been able to provide proof of Saeed's role in the Mumbai's attacks.
The same stand was taken by Saeed himself on camera. "Many dossiers have been handed over but none of them has any evidence against me. Even Salman Bashir has said in New Delhi that this is not evidence but literature."
In the rallies organized in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir in early February, Saeed was seen and heard inciting violence against India.
There is little that Delhi can actually do to get Islamabad to take legal action against Saeed. But his public appearances and uncensored comments, suspected to have the sanction of Pakistan authorities, do little to bridge the trust-deficit between both countries.