Picture of Hafiz Saeed addressing a gathering during an anti-Indian protest rally in Lahore
Jamat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, accused of masterminding the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, today said he was prepared to appear before a joint judicial commission of Indian and Pakistan to prove his "innocence".
Saeed made the remarks while addressing some 4,000 of his followers at a rally organised by the JuD outside the Punjab Assembly to mark Pakistan's Independence Day.
"India and Pakistan should form a judicial commission to investigate terrorism charges against me. I am ready to appear before it to prove my innocence," he said.
Earlier, JuD activists marched from Neela Gumbad to Faisal Square on the Mall Road. JuD cadres wearing blue uniforms provided security to Saeed, the founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Saeed claimed he had not visited the Line of Control during the first week of August. He claimed India had said that he travelled to the LoC and his visit was related to the recent killing of five Indian soldiers.
"I was delivering sermons at Masjid Al-Qadsia during the (first week of August)," he said.
He said India should withdraw its troops from Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee chief Sardar Sham Singh participated in the JuD rally. Besides Lahore, the JuD held rallies in other districts of Punjab province.
In Multan, JuD activists burnt an Indian flag and vowed to sacrifice their lives for Saeed.
India has accused the Pakistan-based LeT of carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead. Following the attacks, the UN Security Council declared the JuD a front for the LeT.
Despite a 10 million dollar bounty offered for Saeed by the US, the JuD continues to live at his house in Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's most populous province.