PM Modi’s foreign outreach successful, nations opposed earlier now accepting our view on Pak: Jitendra Singh

MoS Jitendra Singh (Files)

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign outreach initiatives, saying that efforts undertaken by the PM in the last three years have yielded favourable results in helping identify Pakistan and calling out its state policy of sponsoring terrorist activities.

“Outcome of last three years of successful foreign outreach under PM Modi has succeeded in isolating Pakistan and today even those nations which were earlier hesitant to accept India’s view on Pak-sponsored terror are also agreeing to India’s viewpoint,” Singh was quoted as saying by ANI.

Pakistan on Friday freed 26/11 attacks mastermind and Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed following a court’s order, subsequent to which the United States of America sent over a request to Islamabad to refrain from setting him free and implored the government to ensure he is charged for his crimes.

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In a statement, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said, “The United States is deeply concerned that Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed has been released from house arrest in Pakistan. LeT is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent civilians in terrorist attacks, including a number of American citizens. The Pakistani government should make sure that he is arrested and charged for his crimes.”

The statement added that in May 2008, the US had labelled Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224. “Saeed was also individually designated by the United Nations under UNSCR 1267 in December 2008 following the 2008 Mumbai attack in which six American citizens were killed. LeT and several of its front organizations, leaders, and operatives remain under both State Department and Treasury Department sanctions. Since 2012, the United States has offered a US $10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice,” the statement had added.

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After being released, Saeed, on Friday had issued a warning to the Pakistan government against following “dictation from foreign masters”. “Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been punished for forsaking Kashmiris. Sharif is ousted from the prime minister house because he committed treason with Kashmiris. He wanted friendship with India and completely ignored the Kashmir cause,” Saeed had said.

He had added that he would work for the “cause of Kashmir” and try to bring to the state its “destination of freedom”.