New York, Sep 24 - In a startling volte face, Pakistan admitted Thursday that Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks had not been arrested as had previously been thought, saying this would 'take time'.

At the same time, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the prosecution of Saeed, the founder of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), should not be made a precondition for resuming the sub-continental dialogue process that India froze in the wake of the Nov 26-29, 2008 Mumbai carnage that claimed the lives of over 170 people, including 26 foreigners.

'When the leads culminate in some evidence that he is a criminal, I will not waste a moment. He will be arrested. But it will take time,' Malik told NDTV news channel in an interview here.

'We have to follow our law. As we are respecting the investigation and the courts of India, I request you to request our courts. Wait for some time. The court process has started. We mean business. Whatever we have committed on all forums, we mean business,' Malik added.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had confirmed Tuesday that Saeed had been arrested the previous day after two first information reports (FIRs) were registered against him under the anti-terrorism act.

On Thursday, Saeed's lawyer had denied the arrest, saying an appeal had been filed against the FIRs in the Lahore High Court.

Reiterating that India had not presented adequate evidence against Saeed, Rehman maintained that his prosecution should not be made a precondition for resuming the India-Pakistan dialogue process.