India on Monday said that the action against Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and his colleagues was the first logical step in getting the region rid of the twin menaces of terrorism and violent extremism.
“Hafiz Saeed is an international terrorist, the mastermind of the Mumbai terrorist attack and responsible for unleashing a wave of terrorism against Pakistan's neighbours through LeT/ JuD and their affiliates,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
Swarup was responding to a question on the listing of Saeed by Pakistan under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Saeed, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief, is currently under house arrest in Pakistan.
The Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 empowers Pakistan’s government to mark a person as “proscribed” and to place that person on the fourth schedule on an ex-parte basis.
Any violation of the provision of the fourth schedule may result in imprisonment of up to three years and fine or both.
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