No case against Hafiz Saeed: Pakistan PM

In a continuation of its denial of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed's hand in terror activities, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi bluntly stated on Wednesday that "there is no case registered the man responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. "Action is only taken when there is a case registered (against someone)," Abbasi said in an interview to a Pakistani news channel.

The Pakistani prime minister's words has not only shocked New Delhi but Washington as well, who had put a bounty of $1 million on Saeed's head. And with this latest declaration, diplomatic sources say, Islamabad has firmly shut the door on talks with New Delhi.       

Saeed, who had been under house arrest since January last year was released in November last year. Since then he has been operating freely in Pakistan and has even expressed a desire to run for a political office, under a newly formed political party Milli Muslim League (MML).

Earlier, Pakistan had said under their laws, the government can detain a person for up to three months under different charges. But to extend detention approval is needed from a judicial review board. The review board last November had refused to give further extension to the detention of Saeed and his aides.