Hafiz Saeed put under house arrest in Lahore

Lahore, Jan 30, 2017 (PTI)

Jammat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of Mumbai terror attack, was tonight placed under house arrest in Lahore, his outfit said. Punjab government's Home Department has issued detention order of Saeed and Lahore Police have reached JuD headquarters in Chauburji to implement the order, it said.

He "is at Masjid-e-Qadsia Chauburji and a heavy contingent of police has surrounded the JuD headquarters," JuD official Ahmed Nadeem, who is present at the premises of the outfit, told PTI by phone. "The commanding police officer told us that he has with him the house arrest order of the JuD chief issued by the Punjab Home Department," Nadeem said.

Punjab government's action comes amidst pressure from the Trump administration to act against terror. The US has clearly told Islamabad that in case of not taking action against JuD and Saeed, it may face sanctions.

JuD is the front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit which is responsible for numerous terror attacks in India, including the Mumbai terror strike of November 26,2008, which was masterminded by Saeed. JuD has already been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation’ by the United States in June 2014.