Pakistan freed Hafiz Saeed to boost terrorism in India, says Union minister Hansraj Ahir

Mumbai: Pakistan has released 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed from “house arrest” in a bid to increase terrorist activities in India, Union minister Hansraj Ahir said on Sunday. Calling Pakistan the “enemy” of the Kashmiri people, the minister of state for home said Islamabad was uncomfortable with Indian security forces eliminating militants in Jammu and Kashmir. [caption id=“attachment_3949749” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Union minister of Hansraj Ahir. News18[/caption] “Pakistan is uncomfortable with the way Indian security forces were eliminating terrorists. Even Saeed’s relative, a terrorist, has been killed by our security forces. To give a boost to terrorist activities, Saeed has been released (from detention) by the Pakistani government,” Ahir said. He was speaking at an event commemorating the bravery of security force personnel during the Mumbai terror attacks. On 26 November, 2008, ten heavily-armed LeT terrorists launched co-ordinated attacks in Mumbai in which 166 people died. Saeed is the founder of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He has an American bounty of $10 million on his head for his terror activities. Pakistan freed him from “house arrest” on Friday, two days ahead of the ninth anniversary of the horrifying attacks. “Terrorism is not letting us live. I can say it clearly that Kashmir’s enemy is Pakistan. Even the Kashmiris agree to this,” Ahir said. The minister said the Indian government has increased the amount it spends to purchase new equipment and modern weapons for security forces to improve the internal security. He claimed the Union government has succeeded in curbing the Naxal activities and preventing terrorist attacks in the past three years. “The Naxal attacks have come down by 20-25 percent. The government is also working on bringing down instances of smuggling through the coastal areas,” he said.