Hafiz Saeed (center)Lahore: Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has reportedly been put under house arrest here on Monday.
According to Pak media reports, Saeed has been put under arrest at Jamia Qadsia, headquarters of the organization, along with other JuD leaders, Abdullah Ubbaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz.
Punjab government's Home Department has issued detention order of Saeed and Lahore Police have reached JuD headquarters in Chauburji to implement the order, his outfit 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.
Saeed's continued freedom has been a source of continuing friction between Pakistan and its longtime foe India as well as the United States.
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.
"These steps are being taken to please India," JuD spokesman Yahya Mujahid told Reuters by telephone.
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.
The UN had declared JuD a terror organization and also individually designated Saeed, who is also the co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as a terrorist in December 2008.
JuD has been declared as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in June 2014. The US has put $10 million reward on his head.
