Hafiz Saeed Offers Storm Aid Through Alleged Pakistan Terror Group
The U.S. has turned down a disaster relief offer made by Pakistani terror leader Hafiz Saeed.
Saed has a $10 million bounty on his head for allegedly orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that left more than 160 people dead. However, he has claimed that he is willing to over look the insult of having a bounty on his head "for the sake of his religion." He insisted that offering the United States aid following Hurricane Sandy is the right thing to do, according to his Muslim faith.
"We are ready to send food items, medicines and doctors to the U.S. for the people affected by the storm," said Saeed. "America [may] fix bounties on our heads but as followers of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), we feel it is our Islamic duty to help Americans trapped in a catastrophe."
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According to an ABC report, he also noted that the charity he heads had provided aid in Sri Lanka and Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami. "Saeed is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terror group banned by the Pakistani government, and still heads its charity wing, Jamaat ud Dawa," the site reported.
The bounty was announced earlier this year but according to Saeed, the U.S. Supreme Court had cleared his group of guilt. He made light of the bounty announcement in April, adding that he was not making any attempt to hide.
"I am living my life in the open and the U.S. can contact me whenever they want," Saeed said, according to the International News. "The U.S. government is listening to the Indian lobby and not making its own decisions."
State Department spokesman Mark Toner later responded to Saeed's taunts by stating that the bounty was for information leading to his arrest, not his location which he had made apparent through holding a number of press conferences.
