Wanted Pakistani militant leader taunts U.S.

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- One of Pakistan's most notorious extremists taunted the United States during a defiant news conference close to the country's military headquarters yesterday, a day after the United States slapped a $10 million bounty on him.

Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, 61, the founder of the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has been accused of orchestrating the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, 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 yesterday, mocking Washington for placing a bounty on a man whose whereabouts is no mystery. "I will be in Lahore tomorrow. America can contact me whenever it wants to."

Pakistan pushed back against the United States 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 to lead a protest movement against U.S. 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.

Hours before Saeed spoke, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides met Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar in the nearby capital, Islamabad, for talks about rebuilding the two nations' relationship. In a brief statement, Nides did not mention the bounty offer but reaffirmed America's commitment to "work through" the challenges bedeviling ties.

The United States said Tuesday it issued the bounty for information leading to Saeed's arrest and conviction in response to his increasingly "brazen" appearances.