Hafiz Saeed

India’s tormentor-in-chief Hafiz Saeed, head of Pakistan’s deadliest terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, now carries a $10-million bounty on his head. The US announced this reward for the capture or information leading to the capture of Saeed, making him one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. US undersecretary of state Wendy Sherman said Saeed’s brother-in-law and co-founder of LeT Abdul Rehman Makki carries a bounty of $3 million. LeT, and mainly Saeed, are accused of planning and executing the Mumbai 26/11 attacks with the ISI’s help. Under Saeed’s watch, the LeT has grown to become a terror group that rivals al-Qaida in its reach and lethality. Although primarily focused against India, LeT, which has links with the Pakistani spy agency ISI (some claim that it has been nurtured by it) the ISI, has reached European and Australian shores. Unlike other people who have a US bounty on their heads, Saeed is out in the open: he moves around freely in Pakistan, addresses meetings, often spewing venomous hatred against India and other democracies. Despite his alleged involvement in 26/11, Islamabad has refused to act against him. The reward on him would put Pakistan in an awkward position. The US decision means that Saeed now becomes a legitimate target for a US drone attack, like the ones that killed Baitullah Mehsud, head of Pakistan Taliban, and Ilyas Kashmiri, head of Qaida’s Brigade 313. In recent months, Saeed has entertained political ambitions and established a new umbrella group of 40 Pakistani terror groups called the Difa-e-Pakistan (Pakistan Defence Council).