Hafiz Saeed's arrest 'a policy decision', says Pakistan Army

JuD chief was on Monday night arrested in Lahore by Punjab Police

The Pakistan Army on Tuesday termed the house arrest of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed "a policy decision".

During a media briefing, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said: "This is a policy decision that the state took in national interest. Lots of institutions will have to do their jobs."

The JuD chief, wanted in India for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, was on Monday night arrested in Lahore by Punjab Police. He is under UN sanctions and carries a bounty of $10 million on his head.

Speaking about the situation with India, Ghafoor said, "We don't want war with anyone. War is not a solution to anything but we will not compromise on our dignity and respect".

He added,  "the Kashmir issue should be resolve under United Nations resolutions and dialogue, but this desire for peace should not be misconstrued as a weakness."

Touching upon the ceasefire violations across the Line of Control that divides Jammu and Kashmir he said: "In the last four months alone, there have been 314 violations, due to which 46 Pakistan citizens and 40 Indian soldiers have been killed."

He claimed that India was "doing all this according to a preempted plan. It is trying to divert the world's attention away from atrocities in the Kashmir Valley."

"India's 'surgical strike' was one episode of this drama," he added.

"The Indian army chief recently also made a statement about the cold-start doctrine... Pakistan had apprehensions it is working on developing these capabilities. The Indian army chief has acknowledged this capability and has made their intent to intensify their actions clear."