Pakistan extends Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's house arrest by 90 days

Saeed's house arrest has been extended by 90 days.

New Delhi: Pakistani authorities on Sunday extended the period of house arrest for JuD chief Hafiz Saeed by 90 days, an official said.

"The government has decided in principle to extend the house arrest of Hafiz Saeed, Prof Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid, Qazi Kashif Hussain and Abdullah Abid for another 90 days" under preventive detention, an official of the Punjab government's Home Department told PTI.

The official said a consultative meeting on Saeed's detention has already been held under Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar in which a decision to extend the house arrest has been taken.

Last week, the Pakistani Interior Ministry had conveyed to the Lahore High Court that no laws were violated in issuance of the detention orders against Jamaat-ud- Dawa chief and his aides.

In a written reply to the court on April 20, the ministry defended their detention, saying the orders were issued under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

It further said the JuD and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) had been kept under observation on the basis of a report sent by the foreign ministry.

The ministry observed that JuD and FIF were engaged in “activities which could be prejudicial to peace and security and in violation of Pakistan's obligation to the UN Security Council resolution”.

Besides Saeed, others who are in detention include Prof Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid, Qazi Kashif Hussain and Abdullah Ubaid.

Saeed has been under house arrest since January 31, 2017.

The United States had declared JuD as a foreign terrorist organisation in June 2014.

The JuD chief also carries a US reward of $10 million for his role in terror activities.

According to media reports, the Nawaz Sharif government had detained Saeed after the Trump administration, which had just taken over, had told Pakistan that it may face sanctions if it did not act against JuD and its chief.

Saeed, along with his four aides, have filed a petition in the Lahore High Court challenging his detention through senior advocate A K Dogar.