(CNN) -- Wanted. $10 million reward.
Someone with that bounty
on his head would normally have to be in hiding. Not Hafiz Mohammed
Saeed, the leader of Pakistan's Jamaat-ud-Dawa (Party of Truth),
considered a terrorist organization by the United States.
Saeed made headlines in
the wake of Superstorm Sandy after he offered to send aid to its victims
in the United States, which Washington quickly rejected.
"This particular offer strikes us as very hollow," State Department spokesman Mark Toner has said.
India and Washington
accuse Saeed of being directly responsible for the November 2008 attacks
in Mumbai that killed 166 people, and the U.S. government offered the
handsome bounty for information leading to his capture.
Despite his high profile,
he says he does not live in seclusion, and he runs 150 madrassas and
schools across the country. The U.N. Security Council even published a
street address for him in Lahore in 2008.
CNN sat down to record an interview with him in a building across from his home.
But Saeed takes security
seriously and required that the crew first meet with one of his men on
the outskirts of Lahore then follow him into town. Checkpoints lined the
block around his house.
He agreed to the interview with a Western news organization, only because he wanted to talk about his offer to Sandy's victims.
"We have differences
with the American government's policies, but the American people are
only human; we are all human. It's not their fault," Saeed told CNN.
In a sermon, which can be found on the Internet, he has blasted the West as being the real terrorists.
Saeed has repeatedly
denied any involvement with the Mumbai killings or support for terrorism
despite accusations he has masterminded numerous attacks.
"I condemn this attack
and the innocent lives that have been lost," he said. "I don't support
this attack or any violence of this kind, but you don't even seem to
believe me; I've said it so many times."
He highlighted charitable activities by Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
The U.S. State Department describes JuD's mission as the establishment of Islamist rule in India and Pakistan.
Saeed softened his
stance on Sharia law when speaking to CNN, saying he did not want to
impose the strict laws by force but encourage it by raising awareness
instead. It was a departure from past radical positions.
To the U.N. Security
Council, Saeed's party is synonymous with the terrorist group
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and he is its leader, who also actively supports al
Qaeda and the Taliban.
Even Lashkar-e-Tayyiba
as denied responsibility for the Mumbai attacks, which saw the Taj Mahal
Hotel set alight, according to the Council on Foreign Affairs.
The outlawed group,
whose name translates to "army of the pure,"has a reputation for being
particularly active in the conflict region of Kashmir. Both India and
Pakistan place varying claims on it. China lays claim to a small part of
it as well.
India's National
Investigation Agency is to carry out inquiries in Pakistan into possible
connections with the Mumbai attacks. Saeed told CNN he would speak with
them.
He said he has written
letters to the U.N. and the European Union in attempts to clear his
name, even offering to cooperate with investigations -- to no avail.
Until then, Hafiz Saeed -
surrounded by armed guards - says he will continue to provide moral
support, but no more, in the cause of liberating Kashmir.
And he will deliver relief aid to the people of Pakistan, as the United States will not accept his offers.