White House condemns Pakistan's release of accused mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks

The White House on Saturday called Pakistan’s release of a militant wanted by the US as the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai massacre of 2008 a “step in the wrong direction” and said a refusal to re-arrest him would damage bilateral ties and Pakistan’s international reputation around the world.

In a statement, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the US “strongly condemns” the release of Hafiz Saeed from house arrest and urged his “immediate re-arrest and prosecution”.

“Saeed’s release, after Pakistan’s failure to prosecute or charge him, sends a deeply troubling message about Pakistan’s commitment to combating international terrorism and belies Pakistani claims that it will not provide sanctuary for terrorists on its soil,” she said.

“If Pakistan does not take action to lawfully detain Saeed and charge him for his crimes, its inaction will have repercussions for bilateral relations and for Pakistan’s global reputation.”

Saeed is allegedly the founder of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a banned group linked to the 2008 attack in India in which 166 people were killed. He has been designated a terrorist by the US justice department and the US has a $10m reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

He was released before dawn on Friday after a three-judge panel in Pakistan ended his detention in the eastern city of Lahore. The move also outraged Indian authorities. Saeed’s spokesman, Yahya Mujahid,called it a “victory of truth”.

“Hafiz Saeed was under house arrest on baseless allegations and jail officials came to his home last night and told him that he is now free,” he said.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa is widely believed to be a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, which India says was behind the Mumbai attack, since which Pakistan has been detaining and freeing Saeed off and on.

The Trump administration has been intensifying pressure on Pakistan to fight extremists and drive them from hideouts in Pakistani territory. The campaign appeared to produce some success this year when Pakistani security forces assisted with the release of a Taliban-held US-Canadian family after five years in captivity.

However, US officials cautioned that move needed to be followed by additional measures to prove the country’s commitment. Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Asif said in a visit to Washington in October his country was willing to cooperate fully with the Trump administration. He said Pakistan had wiped out militant hideouts with little help from the US, which has restricted military assistance in recent years.

The US in August said it would hold up $255m in military assistance for Pakistan until it cracked down on extremist groups that threaten neighboring Afghanistan. Donald Trump’s tough words about Pakistan infuriated Islamabad and triggered anti-US protests that Pakistani police used teargas to disperse.