Jamaat-ud-Dawa denies Hafiz Saeed's threats of terror strikes in Delhi - Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) has formally denied that its chairman Hafiz Muhammad Saeed threatened terror strikes in Delhi, making security experts here wonder if the 26/11 mastermind was having second thoughts about terror-mongering at a time when the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan is aiming for peace talks with India. According to a former Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) official, it is a known fact that Saeed shares good ties with Nawaz Sharif. "Anti-India elements in Pakistan and ISI have been using Saeed for propaganda on Kashmir, allowing him to make hate speeches from public platforms in Pakistan. However, his propagation of terror acts has the potential of embarrassing the Sharif regime as it would be seized upon by India to nail Islamabad on its failure to rein in terror perpetrators on its soil," the official pointed out. Mindful of how ill-timed a public terror threat from Saeed could sound amid attempts by Sharif to bring talks with India back on track, Saeed may have been under pressure to delink from his alleged terror threat to Delhi, a security expert pointed out. On Saturday, JuD spokesperson Yahya Mujahid issued a formal denial on Twitter, slamming media and Indian intelligence reports about "alleged threats by Hafiz Saeed towards Delhi". "We completely reject these baseless allegations labelled again st JuD and Hafiz Saeed ... Indian government and media is engaged in vile anti-Pakistan propaganda," the JuD said adding that "we have acknowledged the need of principled talks". "However, India is throwing spanner in the works by war hysteria," it alleged. Intelligence agencies believe the denial had as much to do with JuD's dependence on the Pakistani establishment for patronage and funding, as with the desire to be on the right side of Nawaz Sharif. Security analyst Brahma Chellaney, however, did not attach much significance to the JuD's denial as "by parading the most-wanted terrorist Saeed at public forums and gatherings, Pakistan has already achieved its purpose of poking a thumb in India's eye." Intelligence Bureau had on August 8 issued an alert to Delhi Police, referring to a speech made by Hafiz Saeed in Karachi during which he warned of more attacks like the 2000 strike at Red Fort. The alert, coming as it did in the wake of intercepts of t error chatter about LeT's plans to hit Delhi post-Ramzan, led to ramping up of security at crowded places, government buildings, shopping centres and malls across the capital. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNG9Vj0jTpb-UmyrWRBD4OlY-6hDtA&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Jamaat-ud-Dawa-denies-Hafiz-Saeeds-threats-of-terror-strikes-in-Delhi/articleshow/21764271.cms

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 2953939