India 'vindicated', says Pak bound to book Saeed

New Delhi: India on Wednesday said the Interpol red corner notice against Hafiz Saaed had vindicated its claim that he was involved in the Mumbai terror attacks and Islamabad was now bound to take action against him.

"Interpol has issued Red Corner Notice for Saeed's involvement... It is a vindication of the stand the government of India has taken," said External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Wednesday.

The world should take note of the Interpol notice and come to their own conclusions, he said.

"The perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks will have to be brought to justice. We have painstakingly collected evidence to convey the involvement of these persons," he said.

Saeed heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a front organisation of the LeT blamed by India for the attacks.

Pakistan is now duty bound to arrest Saeed, CBI spokesperson Harsh Bahl told IANS. "It is an administrative procedure and Pakistan is now obliged to arrest Hafiz Saeed and hand him to India for trial in the Mumbai attacks."

The red corner notice on Tuesday night followed the non-bailable arrest warrants by a special court in Mumbai against Saeed, militant leader Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhv and 20 others for their alleged roles in the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.

The notice was issued after the CBI, backed by the non-bailable warrants, asked the Interpol for it.

Saeed, who was put under house arrest after the Nov 26, 2008 attacks was set free in June by a Lahore court that found insufficient evidence for his continued detention.

With Pakistan dithering over punishing the terrorists behind the Mumbai carnage, Krishna Tuesday had named Saeed as the "brain behind" the 26/11 attacks and told Pakistan that it has given enough evidence to convict the man known for his anti-Indian terror activities.

Krishna stressed that only action against persons like Saeed would convince New Delhi of Islamabad's seriousness in tackling cross-border terror.

"Whatever evidence we have gathered, in our opinion, is enough to get a conviction to a person, if it is presented through proper advocacy before a court of law," Krishna had said in an interview to CNN-IBN.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had Friday handed over to Pakistani High Commissioner Shahid Malik the latest dossier on the November 2008 terror attacks that specifically included "additional information" on Saeed, alleged mastermind of the Mumbai carnage.