New Delhi, Dec 17 (ANI): Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik was "misinformed" about the actual reasons for the arrest of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, the and mastermind of Mumbai terror attack of 2008.
Making a statement in the Rajya Sabha a day after Rehman Malik's visit to India, Shinde said copies of FIRs and judgments pertaining to previous arrests of Saeed showed he had not been arrested in relation to the Mumbai attacks.
"Mr. Rehman Malik has been telling us repeatedly he has arrested Hafiz Saeed thrice and he was let off due to lack of evidence. We had been given to understand Hafiz Saeed was arrested on charge of being involved in the 26/11 attack," he said.
"He said he will give FIRs and judgments of three occasions... He has given us papers on detention of Saeed and from the papers it is clear his detention was for other reasons and not for his role in Mumbai terror attack. So I can only say Mr. Rehman Malik appears to be misinformed in this case," Shinde said.
"We had been given to understand by the Interior Minister of Pakistan that Hafiz Saeed had been arrested on charges of being a part of the conspiracy for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks," he said.
He said when India pursued the matter, Pakistan had given the papers pertaining to the detention of Saeed in 2002 and 2009.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha lashed out at Shinde for not contradicting Rehman Malik's statements, and said that the relationship between the two Asian neighbours will improve only if New Delhi confronts Islamabad with the truth of the situation.
"Our government and our Home Minister has shown weakness by not responding to Rehman Malik in kind. He should have immediately responded in kind. If he (Malik) used hard words, he (Shinde) should have used hard words.
"If he (Malik) insulted India, he (Shinde) should have said that we don't accept it. He (Shinde) should have contradicted the Pakistani Interior Minister's statement then and there," he told mediapersons outside the Parliament here. (ANI)
