Pakistan extends Hafiz Saeed's house arrest

Pakistani authorities have extended by two more months the house arrest of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed, also a UN designated terrorist, officials said.

The house arrest of the Jamaat-ud Dawa leader, who was on January 31 taken into "protective custody" under the Anti-Terrorism Act, expired on July 27, Dawn online reported.

The Punjab government announced the house arrest extension on Monday. Saeed is the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack that left 166 Indians and foreigners dead.

A Punjab government notification said the Counter Terrorism Department believed that release of Saeed and other leaders of his organisation could cause chaos in the country.

It said that if released, Saeed was likely to glorify his activities and create unrest.

Other members of the JuD -- Abdullah Ubaid, Abdul Rehman Abid, Zafar Iqbal and Qazi Kashif Niazi of Multan, who handle the JuD's publications -- were also taken into custody in January.

--IANS

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