Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said India had made it clear that bringing to justice the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai attack was of "paramount importance" to ensure that the Indo-Pak peace process proceeded in an atmosphere free of terrorism and violence.
Shinde stated this in a suo-motu statement in both Houses of Parliament amid demands by the BJP for cancellation of upcoming Pakistan cricket team's tour of India and suspension of talks till the perpetrators of Mumbai attack were brought to justice.
Informing Parliament about his talks with Malik, Shinde said it was clear from the papers given to India that the detention of Hafiz Saeed between 2002 and 2009 were for other reasons and not for his role as a conspirator in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
"Mr Rehman Malik, Interior Minister of Pakistan has been telling us repeatedly that he had arrested Mr Hafiz Saeed thrice and that on each occasion, he was let off by the courts for lack of evidence," he said.
"From the papers given to us, it is clear that the detentions of Shri Hafiz Saeed in the aforesaid cases were for other reasons and not for his role as a conspirator in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Therefore, I can only say that Mr Rehman Malik appears to have been misinformed in the matter," Shinde said.
Saeed is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit, which is responsible for carrying out a series of attacks in India, including the 2001 attack on Parliament. (MORE)