One of Pakistan's most notorious extremists taunted the United States during a defiant news conference close to the country's military headquarters Wednesday, a day after the US slapped a $10 million bounty on him. Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the 61-year-old founder of the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has been accused of orchestrating the 2008 attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people, including six American citizens. He operates openly in Pakistan, giving public speeches and appearing on television talk shows. “I am here, I am visible. America should give that reward money to me,” he told reporters Wednesday, mocking Washington for placing a bounty on a man whose whereabouts are no mystery. “I will be in Lahore tomorrow. America can contact me whenever it wants to.” Pakistan pushed back against the US in its first official response to the bounty, saying Washington needed to provide “concrete evidence” if it wants the government to act against Saeed. Analysts have said Pakistan is unlikely to arrest Saeed because of his alleged links with the country's intelligence agency and the political danger of doing Washington's bidding in a country where anti-American sentiment is rampant. Saeed has used his high-profile status in recent months to lead a protest movement against US drone strikes and the resumption of NATO supplies for troops in Afghanistan sent through Pakistan. Islamabad closed its borders to the supplies in November in retaliation for American airstrikes that accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
