Lashkar-e-Taiba leader and Jamaat-ud-Dawa founder Hafiz Saeed, who has been accused of orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is leading a fearless life and roaming free in Pakistan despite being one of the most-wanted militants.
The 64-year-old LeT leader is the key accused in the 26/11 attacks that killed more than 160 people and injured over 300. Last year, the United States announced a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest, and the United Nations placed him on the terrorist list besides imposing sanctions on his group.
India and America may be pulling out all the stops to capture Saeed, but that is still not stopping him from bragging about his freedom in Pakistan.
"I move about like an ordinary person - that's my style," Saeed told The New York Times in an interview. "My fate is in the hands of God, not America."
Saeed is leading a normal life at his sprawling Lahore home despite a $10 million dollar bounty on his head. He addresses public meetings, appears on prime-time television and even got the guts to speak to foreign media.
Speaking to The New York Times, Saeed claimed that the Pakistani court cleared his name. "Why does the United States not respect our judicial system?" he asked.
The LeT leader will get even more space to roam about if the United States pulls out its troops from Afghanistan in 2014 as planned. He will take the final call on his group's next move to fight against the west, join mainstream Pakistani politics or spread his network in Jammu and Kashmir.
Saeed was in the news recently after inviting Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan to move to Pakistan if he feels insecure in India.
He was reacting to Shah Rukh's article titled, "Being a Khan" in Outlook Turning Point where the actor described his experiences as a Muslim post 9/11 incident. Shah Rukh hit back saying that he is proud to be an Indian and is "extremely safe and happy".
