New Delhi, February 21
New Delhi today came down heavily on Pakistan for allowing Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood to openly address an anti-India rally.

“Once is once too many times... we have zero tolerance for terrorists,” MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin made it clear when asked about Masood’s telephonic address an anti-India rally in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Masood had threatened to attack election rallies in India.

The spokesperson said it was a matter of concern to New Delhi that a terrorist who was banned globally was able to spew venom against India.

“He (Masood) is a leader of a terrorist organization, which is banned by India, the UN Security Council, the US and, more importantly, by Pakistan,” he noted.

Masood was one of the three terrorists released by India in 1999 in exchange for the hostages of the hijacked Air India flight IC-814. He was also named as the prime suspect in the December 2001 attack on Parliament.

“There are 313 fidayeens in this gathering and if a call is given the number will go up to 3000,” he reportedly told participants at the rally. Pakistan’s foreign office, however, played down Masood’s address to the rally, calling it a “one-time event”.

New Delhi’s strong reaction came a day after External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid met Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in Maldives on the margins of the SAARC Council of Ministers’ meeting and asked Islamabad to expedite the trial in the Mumbai attack case.