Can't act against Saeed on basis of hearsay: Pak

Islamabad: Pakistan cannot take action against outlawed JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, a key accused in the Mumbai attacks, on the basis of "hearsay" and needs more time to evaluate the veracity of information provided by India on him, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said.

"India gave us the latest evidence (on Saeed) only 10 days back and we need a few days to evaluate its veracity and also whether it can take the test of our courts. We cannot operate on hearsay alone," Malik said in an interview to 'The News' daily.

However, officials in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad said New Delhi's latest dossier, which calls on Islamabad to take action against Saeed for his role in masterminding the Mumbai attacks, was handed over on August 21. Since then, no further information has been provided by India, they said.

Asked about India's criticism on Pakistan government's handling of the issue of Saeed, Malik said, "We respect your courts, you respect ours."

He accused India of not cooperating in the probe into the Mumbai attacks, saying authorities in the neighbouring country had been "dragging their feet all along."

"Let's stop the blame game and play a fair game," he said.