Hold "serious talks" with India over river waters sharing: JuD

Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has called on the Pakistan government to hold "serious talks" with India over the issue of sharing of river waters.

He made the remarks while addressing a meeting of JuD activists in the border city of Sialkot, 70 km from Lahore, yesterday.

"Islamabad should hold a serious dialogue with New Delhi on this crucial issue, which will damage the agriculture-based economy of Pakistan," he claimed.

"India is trying to render our country barren by stopping water coming here," he further claimed. The founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba said the world community could never ignore the sacrifices of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Sacrifices by thousands of Kashmiris will soon bear fruit," he claimed. Criticising the Pakistan People's Party-led government for reopening NATO supply routes to Afghanistan, Saeed said the Defa-e-Pakistan Council will continue its protests against the decision.

The government recently ended a seven-month blockade of the supply lines after the US apologised for a NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November.

Though the US has offered a bounty of 10 million dollars for Saeed, the JuD leader has been freely holding public meetings across the country, especially in Punjab province.