WASHINGTON - The United States Friday dispelled the impression that the $10 million price on the head of Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was a bounty, saying it was aimed at seeking information that can convict him in a court of law.

At the same time, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland refused to comment on an recent interview given by Hafiz Saeed to the New York Times, arguing that she does not want to ‘dignify’ his critical remarks about the United States.
"I'm not going to, you know, dignify the interview with a detailed response," she told reporters while responding to an Indian correspondent's question at the daily press briefing.
The 'Rewards for Justice Proposal' that was put out against Saeed last year was not a bounty, Nuland added.
"What it's designed to do is to help obtain information leading to his arrest and conviction, so we're looking for people to come forward, whether they are in Pakistan or anywhere else, with information that can stand up in court, can withstand judicial scrutiny in US or a foreign court and help create the conviction, so that's what this is about," she said.
Asked whether the Indian government had shared any evidence against Hafiz Saeed, the spokesperson said "I’m going to refer you to the (US) Department of Justice on that one. I think we made clear when we put forward the Rewards for Justice that we’re seeking more information to make the cases, and that’s one of the reasons we put those kinds of things out."
When asked whether Secretary of State John Kerry, who has made phone calls to leaders of several countries after assuming his office, had contacted Pakistan, Nuland said "He has not yet, but we expect that soon."