Palestine Ambassador Shares Dais with Hafiz Saeed, India Issues Demarche

NEW DELHI:
India will strongly take up with Palestine the issue of its ambassador in Pakistan attending a rally organised by Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
“We have seen reports in this regard. We are taking up the matter strongly with the Palestinian ambassador in New Delhi and with the Palestinian authorities,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
He was reacting to a query on reports and photographs of the Palestinian ambassador participating in the rally. According to reports, Palestinian ambassador in Islamabad Walid Abu Ali attended a large rally organised by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council at Rawalpindi in Pakistan on Friday.
Difa-e-Pakistan (Defence of Pakistan) Council (DPC) is an alliance of Islamist groups in Pakistan, including Saeed’s outfit.
Photos of the Palestinian ambassador to Pakistan, Walid Abu Ali, sharing the stage with Saeed and addressing the rally organised by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council at Liaqat Bagh in Rawalpindi were circulated on social media on Friday. The rally was organised to condemn the US move on Jerusalem.
The external affairs ministry was particularly incensed as the development came less than 10 days after India joined 127 other members of the United Nations to back a resolution criticising US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The countries disregarded Trump’s threat to cut aid to countries that voted for the resolution.
India’s decision to back the resolution prompted a protest from Israel, a key ally in defence and security matters. New Delhi explained the vote by saying its position on Palestine is “independent and consistent” and “shaped by our views and interests, and not determined by any third country”.
The rally in Rawalpindi featured several jihadi leaders such as Saifullah Khalid of the Milli Muslim League, a political party formed by Saeed, and Abdul Rehman Makki of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), who condemned the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The event was attended by thousands, including members of the JuD.
The DPC is a grouping of some 40 extremist and jihadi groups that was formed by Hafiz Saeed and other extremists in 2012. It has campaigned for long for snapping ties with India and the US.