M A I N   N E W S

JuD chief put under house arrest, again

Security was beefed up outside Saeed’s residence in Johar Town area here late last night. There was no official word on whether he had been put under house arrest. A senior police official said only restrictions had been put on his movement and that he had been barred from leading Id prayers at the Gaddafi stadium.

My demand is that now that he has been arrested, he should be interrogated on the 26/11 incidents. His role in the 26/11 attacks must be investigated, — P Chidambaram

However, Geo News reported that Saeed had been placed under house arrest and “police party had been deputed outside his residence to restrict his movement”. The move came three days after police in Faisalabad city registered two FIRs under the Anti-Terrorism Act against Saeed for making speeches last month in which he allegedly incited people to wage ‘jehad’ against infidels.

Reacting to reports of Saeed's house arrest, Home Minister P Chidambaram said in Chennai that Pakistan should interrogate the LeT founder for the Mumbai attacks, as all the evidence against him was on its soil. “My demand is that now that he has been arrested, he should be interrogated on the 26/11 incidents. His role in the 26/11 attacks must be investigated,” he said.

“Evidence is in Pakistani soil. When Pakistan says give us evidence, evidence is not on Indian soil, all the evidence against Hafiz Saeed is on Pakistani soil,” Chidambaram said.

Saeed was placed under house arrest in December last as well after the JuD was declared a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council. He was freed on the orders of the Lahore High Court in June.

Saeed’s lawyer AK Dogar said his client was being "victimised" by the Pakistan government, which restricted his movement and barred him from attending Id prayers. He also took objection to Home Minister P Chidambaram’s remarks that the evidence against Saeed is in Pakistan. “India's Home Minister is not right because whatever has happened it has happened in India. If someone connected to Hafiz Saeed has done it, let it be brought to me... I'll stop being his lawyer,” he said.

“There is no evidence. I don't know what is that concealed kind of evidence. Let it be known to the whole world. You publish the evidence,” he said. Dogar said Saeed has been stopped by the Pakistan government from leading Id prayers in Lahore.

Meanwhile, JuD spokesman Yahya Muhajid told reporters that it was an “injustice” that Saeed had not been allowed to offer Id prayers at the place of his choice. He claimed that the Pakistan government was taking action against him due to pressure from the US and India.

Notably, Pakistan detained Saeed in December as well, after a UN Security Council resolution put him and a charity he heads on a list of people and organisations supporting Al-Qaida. But a court released him in June on grounds of insufficient evidence, prompting the government to appeal to the Supreme Court for his re-arrest. The case is pending. — PTI