<p align="justify" class="title">The US today said it has told clearly to Islamabad that Hafiz Saeed is a "terrorist" and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, reacting strongly to Pakistan Prime Minister's remarks that there was no case against the Mumbai attack mastermind.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The reaction by the State Department came after Pakistan Premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, during an interview to Geo TV on Tuesday, referred to Saeed as 'sahib' or 'sir'.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"There is no case against Hafiz Saeed sahib in Pakistan. Only when there is a case can there be action," Abbasi had said when asked why there was no action against Saeed.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Reacting strongly to Abbasi's comments, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said: "We believe that he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"He is listed by the UNSC 1267, the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee for targeted sanctions due to his affiliation with Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is a designated foreign terror organisation," Nauert told reporters.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"We have made our points and concerns to the Pakistani government very clear. We believe that this individual should be prosecuted," Nauert said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Responding to a question about Abbasi's remarks, Nauert said the US had "certainly seen" the reports about his comment on Saeed.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"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 killed many people, including Americans as well," she said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Saeed, the chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), was released from house arrest in Pakistan in November.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people. It has been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Acknowledging that the US has had some challenging times with the government of Pakistan recently, Nauert said the Trump administration expected Pakistan to do a lot more to address terrorism issues.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"That's something that we've been very clear about all along. You know the news that we had that came out a couple weeks ago about our decision to withhold some of the security funding for Pakistan," she said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Nauert said the entire administration is on the same page on the issue of US-Pakistan relationship.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Early this month, the US suspended about USD 2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan, accusing it of not doing enough in the fight against terrorism.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">In retaliation, Pakistan reportedly suspended military and intelligence co-operation with the US.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The State Department yesterday said it has not received any formal information in this regard from Pakistan. </p>
<p align="justify" class="title">The US today said it has told clearly to Islamabad that Hafiz Saeed is a "terrorist" and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, reacting strongly to Pakistan Prime Minister's remarks that there was no case against the Mumbai attack mastermind.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The reaction by the State Department came after Pakistan Premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, during an interview to Geo TV on Tuesday, referred to Saeed as 'sahib' or 'sir'.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"There is no case against Hafiz Saeed sahib in Pakistan. Only when there is a case can there be action," Abbasi had said when asked why there was no action against Saeed.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Reacting strongly to Abbasi's comments, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said: "We believe that he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"He is listed by the UNSC 1267, the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee for targeted sanctions due to his affiliation with Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is a designated foreign terror organisation," Nauert told reporters.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"We have made our points and concerns to the Pakistani government very clear. We believe that this individual should be prosecuted," Nauert said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Responding to a question about Abbasi's remarks, Nauert said the US had "certainly seen" the reports about his comment on Saeed.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"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 killed many people, including Americans as well," she said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Saeed, the chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), was released from house arrest in Pakistan in November.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people. It has been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Acknowledging that the US has had some challenging times with the government of Pakistan recently, Nauert said the Trump administration expected Pakistan to do a lot more to address terrorism issues.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">"That's something that we've been very clear about all along. You know the news that we had that came out a couple weeks ago about our decision to withhold some of the security funding for Pakistan," she said.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Nauert said the entire administration is on the same page on the issue of US-Pakistan relationship.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Early this month, the US suspended about USD 2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan, accusing it of not doing enough in the fight against terrorism.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">In retaliation, Pakistan reportedly suspended military and intelligence co-operation with the US.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The State Department yesterday said it has not received any formal information in this regard from Pakistan. </p>