New Delhi: Expressing disappointment over Pakistan Supreme Court's dismissal of appeals challenging the release of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed from house arrest, India on Tuesday hoped that Islamabad will take "meaningful action" to address its concerns.
"There is a sense of disappointment. I am sure everybody in this country will share same sense of disappointment on this development especially when we regard Hafiz Saeed as one of the masterminds of the Mumbai terror attacks and he has openly urged jihad against India," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said here.
Adding that enough evidence has been given to Pakistan on role and activities of Saeed, she said, "Now since Pakistan has assured us that it will not allow its territory to be used against India, we hope Pakistan will be sensitive to our efforts and take meaningful action."
Saeed, also the founder of the banned Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT), was put under house arrest in December 2008 in the wake of the Mumbai attacks after the UN Security Council declared the JuD a front for the LeT.
The JuD chief challenged his detention in the Lahore High Court.
Saeed was freed on June 2 last year by a three-judge bench of the High Court that said that Punjab and federal governments had failed to provide sufficient evidence to keep him in custody.
Following pressure from India and the international community, the federal and Punjab governments had challenged the High Court's ruling in the apex court.
Pakistani leaders like Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have contended that India has not provided any evidence that will allow authorities to act against Saeed.
Home Minister P Chidambaram has maintained that India has provided sufficient evidence against Saeed in several dossiers handed over to Pakistani authorities.