Difa-i-Pakistan says Saeed, Makki's protection is Pak govt's responsibility'

Lahore, Apr 6(ANI): The Difa-i-Pakistan Council (DPC) has declared that the protection of Jamaat- ud- Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and his brother - in -law Abdul Rehman Makki is the responsibility of the Pakistan Government because "[they] are citizens of Pakistan".

Representatives of the 14 member parties of the DPC were addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club, The Express Tribune reports.

The DPC leaders also vowed to continue the activities of the council according to schedule, "regardless of the bounty" imposed on Jamaat- ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.

The council members also slammed the bounty as "a pressure tactic" to get NATO supply routes re-opened but they said DPC would not let it take place.

A joint communique read out by a Jamaat-ud- Dawa leader Maulana Ameer Hamza, called on Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to cancel his trip to India, pointing out that the Indian hockey team has refused to play in Pakistan.

Pakistan President Zardari will meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over lunch on April 8 before visiting Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti's shrine in Ajmer. (ANI)