US reads riot act to Pak over 'banned' Hafiz Saeed's 'brazen' public appearances

Washington, Feb 7 (ANI): The US State Department has expressed concerns about Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed's public appearances, including at the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) rally held in Karachi earlier this week despite the fact that his organization was internationally sanctioned because of its associations with the al Qaeda.

"Lashkar-e-Taiba and its front group Jamaatud Dawa, is internationally sanctioned because of its associations with al Qaeda. We have and continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to uphold its obligations in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1267/1989," The Express Tribune quoted the State Department press briefing, as saying.

The release further stated that the UN resolution "calls for all countries to freeze assets of sanctioned groups, prevent the transfer of arms to them, and prevent sanctioned individuals from entering or transiting their territories."he JuD has been functioning in Pakistan as a religious and charity organisation. After the Mumbai attacks in 2008, the organisation was declared a terrorist organisation by the West, the United Nations (UN) and India.

Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) senior leader Liaquat Baloch said that the DPC opposed the sanctions, insisting that certain organisations, which were a part of the council, had been wrongly banned by a dictator, hinting at former President Pervez Musharraf. (ANI)