Hafiz Saeed On Terror List Is First Step To Bringing Him To Book, Says India

New Delhi: Putting Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed on terror list is the first logical step in bringing him to justice, India today said. The mastermind of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, has been under house arrest since January and he was banned from leaving the country. Recently, he has been named under the Anti-Terrorism Act - linking him to terror acts and various legal consequences. Appeals to release him from the house arrest have come from many sections of the country, including former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup today said, "Effective action mandated internationally against Hafiz Saeed and his terrorist organisations and colleagues is a logical first step in bringing them to justice." It would help rid the region of terror, he added.

Hafiz Saeed - who had masterminded the attacks that killed 166 people in 2008 -- has been known internationally as a terrorist. US has offered a reward of 10 million dollars for information that can lead to his arrest.

Pakistan has never accepted that Hafiz Saeed has been involved in the attacks and despite India's appeals, he had been given a free run in the nation. Saeed's aides have put down his house arrest to an in increased rapport between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump. Hafiz Saeed was placed under house arrest on January 30 -- days after the Trump administration took charge in the US.

The 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act empowers the Pakistan government to mark a person as "proscribed", making a person open to a barrage of legal consequences like travel bans and scrutiny of assets. Any violation of the rules he has to stick to can result in imprisonment of upto three years and fine or both.