Hafiz Saeed's removal from travel ban list a matter between him, Pak handlers: India

New Delhi: India has said that Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s request for the removal of his name from a list that bars him from leaving Pakistan is a matter concerning him and his handlers there.

“It is between Hafiz Saeed and his handlers in Pakistan. Our view is that he is internationally proscribed terrorist who had engaged in numerous acts of terrorism not only directed at India… and he needs to be brought to justice as soon as possible,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

In a letter to Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, terrorist Saeed, asked the Pakistan government to immediately remove his name from a list that bars him from leaving the country, claiming he was neither a security risk nor his outfit ever engaged in terrorist activities.

To a query on how soon India thinks Bhutan can ratify the Bangladesh Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement (BBIN MVA), Mr Swarup said the lower house of that country has already passed the pact and the Bhutan government was engaged in working out the mechanism through which it can be resolved.

Bhutan’s National Assembly or the lower house of Parliament endorsed the agreement last year which was then forwarded to the National Council for consideration. But, the National Council voted against Bhutan joining the pact amid reservations among some sections about the viability of this agreement given that it was a small country. BBIN-MVA was signed in June in 2015 in Thimphu.