Pakistan to US: Hafiz Saeed He Was Your Darling

Pakistan foreign minister has admitted globally that terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed "is a liability" for his country, one that "we need time to get rid of".

But he asked US not to blame them for Hafiz Saeed, he said Washington considered such men as "darlings" until a few years ago.

Speaking at the Asia Society seminar in New York on Tuesday, he said: "It is very easy to say that Pakistan is supporting Haqqanis, Hafiz Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. They are liabilities...we have said they are liabilities... but give us time to get rid of these liabilities because we do not have the assets to match these liabilities and you are increasing them further."

Mr Asif, who is attending the UN General Assembly, added: "Don't blame us for Haqqanis or don't blame us for the Hafiz Saeeds. These were the people who were your darlings just 20 to 30 years back. They were being dined and wined in the White House and now you say go to hell Pakistanis because you are nurturing these people."


Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack but roams free in Pakistan and even plans to stand in elections.