I am Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hafiz Saeed's biggest supporter: Pervez Musharraf

Islamabad, November 29: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, speaking to media admitted the fact that he's a big supporter of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its founder Hafiz Saeed.

The statement was made during a televised interview related to Musharraf’s recently announced 23-party grand alliance and the aftermath of the botched Faizabad operation.

“You are describing me as a liberal. Yes, I am. These are my thoughts. This does not mean I am against all religious parties,” the former president said.

“The LeT and the Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) are fond of me,’ he said. When asked if he “liked” JuD chief Hafiz Seed too, Musharraf said, “Yes and I have met with him.”

“Because I have always been in favour of an action in Kashmir and I have always been favouring for pressuring the Indian army in Kashmir. This is the biggest force and they have been declared terrorists by India along with the US,” Musharraf stressed while explaining his stance.

Musharraf said he had banned LeT in 2002 because the situation was different then.

Musharraf was indicted in 2013 on charges of murder, criminal conspiracy to murder and facilitation of murder, but his health problems delayed the case. He was allowed to leave the country to seek treatment in 2016. Musharraf has lived in self-imposed exile in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since then.

The 67-yr old Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Seed has a $10 million American bounty on his head for terror activities. Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, including six Americans, was included in the terror list on December 10, 2008, by the United Nations Security Council.

Meanwhile, the US has sought immediate re- arrest of Saaed, warning Islamabad that there would be repercussions for bilateral ties if it fails to act.