Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, chief of the Islamic charity organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa, speaks to supporters during a gathering in Rawalpindi
A brazen and belligerent Hafiz Saeed showed how he can freely and fearlessly address public meetings in Pakistan
A video shows the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founder and his trusted aide Amir Hamza addressing a public meeting a mere 3 kilometres from the headquarters of the Pakistan Army (GHQ), in Rawalpindi and praising the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for spotting a "suspicious" object in Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife Chetankul's shoes.
Comparing ISI with the watchful eyes of a cheetah, Hamza said at Liaquat Bagh, "The moment the ISI discovered that her [Chetankul] shoes looked a little odd, it asked her to change them. The ISI is so smart." According to the Ministry of External Affairs , Chetankul and Jadhav's mother were asked to remove their mangalsutras, bangles and bindis and change their clothes.
Chetankul's shoes were confiscated and sent for forensic examination to ascertain whether the "metallic object" was a camera or a recording chip, Pakistani media had said quoting the foreign office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal.
Hamza further praised the ISI for not allowing Jadhav's wife and mother to meet him normally.
"India had requested Pakistan to allow Jadhav's mother and wife to meet him. Pakistan showed mercy and invited them. India thought that they would meet Jadhav face to face on a sofa but the ISI didn't allow it," said Hamza.
He also claimed that the spy agency had found a secret camera in Chetankul's shoes.
Major General (Retired) GD Bakshi dubbed the meeting between Jadhav and his family a sham.
"It was the ISI's plan to humiliate India. Saeed's public meeting in Rawalpindi clearly shows that the ISI and the Pakistan government are using LeT as their new political arm."
General Bakshi also raised the spectre of Saeed being the next Pakistani Premier.
"Will the rest of the world allow another madman and international criminal to access Pakistan's nuclear button?" he asked referring to North Korea's eccentric leader Kim Jong-un, who has riled the world, especially the US, with a series of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests.
The video shows Jamaat-ud-Dawa's (JuD) top leadership, including Saeed, his brother-in-law and the organisation's commander Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki and LeT co-founder Hamza on a stage.
Palestine's ambassador to Pakistan Walid Abu Al also shared the stage with Saeed because the meeting was called in support of the Palestinian demand to declare East Jerusalem as its capital.
After being released from house arrest, has been addressing public rallies in different cities like Lahore and Gujranwala. Hamza is considered as one of the oldest allies of Saeed.
When JuD was sanctioned by the US, Saeed changed its name to Tehreek Hurmat-e-Rasool and appointed Hamza its chief. He is a key link between LeT and JuD.