Hafiz Saeed, leader of the banned terrorist organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD)

Spokesperson Heather Nauert hailed India and US 'strong' relationship and said US has strong relationship with PM Modi's government

WASHINGTON: The United States State Department said Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saaed and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind is a tremendous concern to Washington.

Spokesperson Heather Nauert made the statement while responding to former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif's remark on the Mumbai terror attack.

"We are concerned about the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks. And he's a Lashkar-e-Taiba guy who was being held in Pakistan, and he was eventually let out on house arrest, and we have a reward out for. I believe it's for his arrest, not information leading to his arrest, but his arrest. I don't recall off the top of my head the award amount, but that person out in the open is a tremendous concern to the United States," Nauert said.

While backing India on the 2008 terror attack, she hailed India and US 'strong' relationship and said, "We have a very strong relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. We have strong people-to-people ties with the Indian population."

Last week, during an interview with the Dawn, Sharif had stated, "Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can't we complete the trial?"

"We have isolated ourselves. Despite giving sacrifices, our narrative is not being accepted. Afghanistan's narrative is being accepted, but ours is not. We must look into it," he added.

His remarks were immediately picked up by Indian media, which termed the former prime minister's statement as a confession of Pakistan's role in the Mumbai terror attacks that left 166 people dead.