Pakistan Says Action Taken. JuD Chief Hafiz Saeed Still Holds Rally

The Jamat ud-Dawa headed by 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, whose assets have reportedly been frozen by Pakistan, held a rally in Pakistan's Karachi this afternoon.

Pakistan's action came following US pressure ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit to India.

"Pakistan, as a member of the United Nations is under obligations to proscribe the entities and individuals that are listed. We take our obligations very seriously," Tasnim Aslam, spokesperson of Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement today. "Once any individuals and organizations are proscribed by the UN, we are required to freeze their assets and enforce travel restrictions. We take that action."

In an e-mailed official reaction, JuD accused Pakistan of banning the organisation under pressure from the US to "please India", reported news agency India Abroad News Service.

The JuD spokesperson defended the group, saying the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court had issued verdicts in favour of allowing JuD to operate in the past and based on these verdicts, the organisation vowed to continue on its "charity work", IANS reported.

Last week, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Pakistan was not "mending its ways".
Saeed, who has a $10 million bounty on his head, gets a free run in Pakistan, holding public rallies and giving interviews in which he rails against India.

In December, he blamed India for the Taliban terror attack on a school in Peshawar and vowed revenge. The address to his followers had been aired by Pakistan's national television.

In 2008, the United Nations said the JuD is a front for the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned and executed the attack in Mumbai, which left 166 people dead. The US State Department declared the JUD a "foreign terrorist organisation" last year.

The Lashkar founder claims he has long abandoned its leadership and now heads JuD, which is involved in humanitarian and charity work.