Islamabad: India has provided "insufficient information" against Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed and Pakistan could take action only on the basis of evidence that stands the test of courts, Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters at the airport in Rawalpindi on his return from a visit to India, Malik sought to clear the air on several controversies that erupted during his trip, including his remarks equating the 2008 Mumbai attacks with the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
He acknowledged that the "greatest pressure" was exerted on him on the issue of Saeed, whom Indian officials have accused of masterminding the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
"I said the insufficient information you have given, which you call evidence, will not stand the test of our courts and the (Lahore) High Court bailed him (Saeed) out," he said.
"I took a clear stand that India has given only information and not evidence against Hafiz Saeed. If they give some evidence, then the government will take action on it like it has done against seven accused who were arrested and 20 who were declared proclaimed offenders," he said.
Malik further contended that Indian authorities should accept the decision of Pakistani courts to free Saeed on bail just as the Pakistan government had accepted the death sentence given by an Indian court to Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist involved in the Mumbai incident.
"Our courts have given bail to Hafiz Saeed and said not to arrest him because there is not sufficient evidence against him," Malik contended.
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