Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, has moved the United Nations, asking for his name to be removed from the list of designated terrorists, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.
Saeed sent the petition to the UN while he was still under house arrest, senior government officials in India said. He was released from detention on Friday.
The United Nations Security Council had put Saeed on the list of people associated with designated terrorist organisations, within two weeks of the attack on Mumbai on November 26, 2008, which had killed 166 people.
Navid Rasul Mirza, of the Lahore-based Mirza and Mirza, confirmed to the Hindustan Times that the law firm had filed the petition on behalf of Saeed. His son Haider Rasul Mirza, Saeed’s counsel in the UN, refused to give more details.
“I have been engaged by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (“the petitioner”), to submit on his behalf this de-listing request for the removal of his name from the ISIL [Islamic State] and Al-Qaida sanctions list being maintained by the United Nations Security Council’s ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee...” part of the petition reads.
France also upset over Saeed’s release
Meanwhile, France has expressed its “deep concern” to Pakistan over Saeed’s release from house arrest last week, PTI reported on Tuesday.
The United States has already demanded that Pakistan arrest Hafiz Saeed again, and warned Islamabad on Saturday of “repercussions” to bilateral ties if it does not do so. India also reacted strongly to the decision to release Saeed and said it “confirms Pakistan’s lack of seriousness in bringing terrorists to justice”.
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