Pakistan extends JuD chief Hafiz Saeed's house arrest by three months

Pakistan has decided to extend the house arrest of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, along with his aides Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz, for another three months.

Punjab Government spokesperson Malik Ahmed Khan has confirmed that a formal notification in this regard would be issued within next few days, local media reports say.

Saeed's three-month detention was to come to an end tonight.

The Pakistan Government on January 30 had put Hafiz Saeed and four others under house arrest at the Qadisiyyah Mosque near Chouburji in Lahore, for their alleged involvement in activities prejudicial to peace and security, for a period of 90 days.

Saeed is wanted by India and the United States for his alleged role in masterminding the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai that claimed 166 lives. He even carries a bounty of 10 million USD (approx. Rs 66 crore) on his head for his role in the attack.

Pakistan claims to have banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), but following the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2002, it re-emerged as Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD). The United States has designated the JuD as a front for the LeT.