Hafiz Saeed, Wanted Leader of Pakistani Terrorist Group LeT, Speaks at Public Rally in Karachi

Syed Shoaib Hasan 

January 26, 2015 

KARACHI, Pakistan—The head of an internationally blacklisted organization that U.S. and Indian authorities link to the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai urged a crowd of several thousand here on Sunday “to take action” with sharply worded criticism of Washington and New Delhi.

Led by Hafiz Saeed, who is wanted by U.S. and Indian authorities in connection with the 2008 attacks, the rally coincided with President Barack Obama ’s visit to India. Organizers said the demonstration was held to protest the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Yet Mr. Saeed, who doesn’t often appear in public, chose a time of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. And despite improved ties with Washington, Islamabad officials remain watchful for anything that might advance India’s cause, such as Mr. Obama’s visit.

Mr. Saeed told the crowd that Washington and New Delhi had formed an “alliance of terrorism” against Pakistan.

“They call us terrorists, but I tell you that the United States, the biggest terrorist in the world, is meeting India, the terrorist’s disciple, today,” Mr. Saeed said. “The plan is to unleash the disciple on the Muslims of the region.”

Pakistani officials have pledged to crack down on militant groups in the wake of the massacre in December of 150 people, most of them children, by Taliban militants in the northwestern city of Peshawar. In a visit to Pakistan earlier this month, Secretary of State John Kerry praised the government for making “significant progress” against militants, especially in the military’s offensive against the Pakistani Taliban and other groups in the country’s tribal regions.

Yet Islamabad has also shown ambivalence on militants. Mr. Saeed is the head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charitable organization. U.S. and Indian officials say it is a front for the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba that is blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which claimed 166 lives. The U.S. government has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his capture.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa operates openly in Pakistan and enjoys significant public support, despite being targeted by the U.N. Security Council for financial sanctions.

Sunday’s rally appeared to take place with government permission. Security agencies set up a cordon around it, with police officers diverting traffic. While some attendees chanted “Welcome, leader of holy jihad” and “Jihad is our faith” as Mr. Saeed took the stage, police were deployed alongside Jamaat-ud-Dawa’s own security guards.

Saleem Zia, the local head of the ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, spoke at the rally, saying his party “stood shoulder to shoulder” with Mr. Saeed’s group.

Mr. Saeed is believed to be the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, although he says that neither he nor Jamaat-ud-Dawa has links with the group. Lashkar-e-Taiba was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. in 2001; Jamaat-ud-Dawa was similarly blacklisted by U.S. in 2008.

Security experts say Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Lashkar-e-Taiba have strong ties to Pakistan’s intelligence service, and are tolerated as a proxy force against India, primarily in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

After the Peshawar attack Pakistani leaders said tacit support for militant groups that operate outside the country’s borders—a policy known as “good Taliban, bad Taliban”—would end.

Observers in Pakistan say a ban on groups such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa is unlikely as long as mistrust remains high between Islamabad and New Delhi.

In December, a Pakistani court granted bail to Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, prompting outrage in India. The Pakistani government, however, extended Mr. Lakhvi’s detention and said it would appeal the bail ruling.