After India's protest, UN panel removes 'sahib' from Hafiz Saeed's name, regrets mistake

United Nations, Dec 22: A UN Security Council panel has issued a "revised" letter removing the term 'sahib' from the name of Mumbai terror attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, saying it regrets the mistake after India objected to the use of the salutation.

The chair of the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee issued a revised letter yesterday in which it has "regretted the mistake" in the previous letter dated December 17.

The committee's chair is Gary Quinlan, who is the Permanent Representative of Australia to the UN. Quinlan had made the reference to Saeed in the communication on information regarding banned terror organisation

(LeT) and Saeed, the founder of LeT.

The new letter clearly mentions the correct primary name of the Pakistani terrorist as Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. The United Nations had declared JuD a terrorist organisation in December 2008.

Saeed himself is a UN-designated terrorist. The resolution entails freezing of funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities, and prevention of entry into or transit through their territories by designated individuals.

The United States had slapped a $10 million bounty on Saeed and his brother-in-law in April 2003. But Saeed roams free in Pakistan and often addresses public rallies in which he routinely makes inflammatory statements.

Pakistan high commissioner to India Abdul Basit had in September said "Hafiz Saeed is a Pakistani national so he is free to roam around", triggering a sharp response from India which termed the JuD chief an 'evil' mastermind of the 26/11 attacks.

PTI