Hafiz bounty in solidarity with India, says Hillary

India and the US on Tuesday asked Pakistan to do more to ensure that its territory was not used as a launch pad for terror attacks.

India and the US on Tuesday asked Pakistan to do more to ensure that its territory was not used as a launch pad for terror attacks.

Addressing a joint press conference with foreign minister SM Krishna, visiting secretary of state Hillary Clinton said the US had no doubts that Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed was the 26/11 attack mastermind. The $10 million (R5 core) reward on him signified an “unmistakable” expression of solidarity with India in fight against terror, she said.

“We wanted to raise the visibility… send an unmistakable message of solidarity with India,” said Clinton, who told a gathering in Kolkata on Monday that she was “well aware” that Islamabad had not taken steps to secure Saeed’s conviction.

Last month, the US offered $10 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Saeed under its Rewards for Justice programme.

The comments, after a breakfast meeting with Krishna, are unlikely to go down well with Islamabad at a time when its ties with Washington are on a slide.

“We look to government of Pakistan to do more”, Clinton said. Pakistan should ensure its territory was not used as a launch pad for terrorist attacks anywhere, “including inside of Pakistan”, as terrorists had killed more than 30,000 Pakistanis, she said.

Krishna, too, urged Pakistan to dismantle “sanctuaries of terror”.

Wrapping up her eight-day farewell tour of Asia, Clinton also noted the assurance given by Krishna for a level-playing field for the American nuclear firms. The US has been saying the nuclear liability law, with its stringent supplier liability clause, was against the global nuclear liability regime.