press trust of india
Lahore, August 1: Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province have extended the house arrest of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed for another two months to maintain public order.
Saeed, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief, has been under house arrest since January 31 this year. His detention had been extended for three more months in April. On January 31, Saeed and his four close aides – Abdullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Hussain) – were detained by the Punjab government for 90 days under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
This time Saeed’s house arrest has been extended under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order.
In a notification issued July 28, the Punjab Government Home Department said on the recommendation of the federal interior ministry the detention of the activist – Saeed – has been extended for another 60 days. It said Saaed and others’ detention expired July 27.
According to the notification, “The Counter Terrorism Department has reported that keeping in view the expected release of said activist (Saeed) and other leaders and workers of said organisations (JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat) they have planned to spread chaos in the country. They have planned to make demonstrations under the leadership of Saeed.”
