Washington: A day after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi saidthat no action could be taken against Hafiz Saeed as there is no caseagainst him, the United States Administration has called for theprosecution of the UN-designated terrorist “to the fullest extent of thelaw”.

Reacting strongly to Pakistan PM’s remarks, US State Departmentspokesperson Heather Nauert said, ”The US believes that Hafiz Saeed shouldbe prosecuted and Pakistan has been told about it.”

“We believe that he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.He is listed by the UNSC 1267, the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee fortargeted sanctions due to his affiliation with Lashkar-e-Toiba, which is adesignated foreign terror organisation,” Nauert said in her daily newsconference on Thursday.

“We have made our points and concerns to the Pakistani government veryclear. We believe that this individual should be prosecuted,” Nauert said.

“There is no case against Hafiz Saeed ‘sahib’ in Pakistan. Only when thereis a case can there be action,” Abbasi said when asked why there was noaction against him.

Responding to a question on the JuD chief, Nauert further said the US has”certainly seen” the reports about Abbasi’s comment on Hafiz Saeed.link>

“We regard him as a terrorist, a part of a foreign terrorist organisation.He was the mastermind, we believe, of the 2008 Mumbai attacks which killedmany people, including Americans as well,” she added.

Saeed, who heads terrorist outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), was released fromhouse arrest in Pakistan in November.

The US has labelled JuD the “terrorist front” for the (LeT), a group Saeedfounded in 1987. LeT was responsible for carrying the 2008 Mumbai attackthat killed 166 people.

Acknowledging that the US has had some challenging times with thegovernment of Pakistan recently, Nauert said the Trump Administrationexpects Pakistan to do a lot more to address terrorism issues.

“That’s something that we’ve been very clear about all along. You know thenews that we had that came out a couple weeks ago about our decision towithhold some of the security funding for Pakistan,” she said.

Nauert said the entire administration is on the same page on the issue ofUS-Pakistan relationship.

Early this month, the US suspended about USD 2 billion worth of securityassistance to Pakistan accusing it of not doing enough in the fight againstterrorism.

In retaliation, Pakistan suspended military and intelligence co-operationwith the US.

The State Department yesterday said it has not received any formalinformation in this regard from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai yesterday called outon Pakistan Prime Minister’s bluff that there is no case against 2008Mumbai mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

“Oh! There is plenty of evidence. Everyone knows that,” said Karzai.

The former Afghan president said this while attending the 2018 RaisinaDialogue in the national capital.

Saeed has been grabbing headlines often since his release from house arrestin November. He was placed under the same in January 2017.