The United States is offering as much as $10 million for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, a
Pakistani man accused of masterminding the 2008 terrorist assault on
Mumbai that killed 166 people.
The "wanted" notice
announcing the large bounty for Saeed, 62, was posted on the website of
the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program late Monday.
The program was
established in 1984 and has paid some $100 million to more than 70
people for information about terrorists. Rewards go as high as $25
million for information on al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The State Department
calls the program "one of the most valuable assets the U.S. government
has in the fight against international terrorism."
The amount for Saeed is one of the highest offered by the program, on par with the sum pinned on Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
The notice describes
Saeed as a former professor of Arabic and engineering who helped found
Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a radical Muslim organization that aims to bring about
Islamist rule in India and Pakistan.
The group's military
wing, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, which means army of the pure, is blamed for
violence in the disputed territory of Kashmir aimed at liberating
Muslims.
After the September 11,
2001, attacks in the United States, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba began operating
outside Kashmir. It is suspected of carrying out several high-profile
attacks in India in the past few years.
The United States labeled
it a "foreign terrorist organization" in December 2001, and under
pressure from Washington, Pakistan banned the group in 2002. But the
group continues to function quite freely.
In November 2008,
terrorists stormed locations throughout Mumbai, killing scores of people
and taking hostages. Six American citizens were killed in the carnage.
In a rare interview in
2010, Saeed told The Independent newspaper that Lashkar-e-Tayyiba was
not involved in the attacks, despite substantial evidence to the
contrary.
The Indian government has issued a notice with Interpol against Saeed in relation to his alleged role in the Mumbai attacks.
On Tuesday, India welcomed the reward notice.
"It reflects the
commitment of India and the United States to bring the perpetrators of
the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice and continuing efforts to combat
terrorism," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
"It also sends a strong
signal to [Lashkar-e-Tayyiba] and also its members and patrons that the
international community remains united in combating terrorism."
Muhammad Yahya Mujahid, the spokesman for Jamaat-ud-Dawa, said the bounty was yet another attack on Islam and Muslims.
"The only thing these American actions will do is create a more passionate hate for America in the hearts of Muslims," he said.
Saeed, the spokesman said, has not been "hiding in mountains and caves" but living openly in Pakistan.
He is scheduled to address a rally Tuesday in Abbotabad, Mujahid said.
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