Pak's Punjab govt extends Saeed's house arrest for 90 days

Pakistan's Punjab government today issued a notification extending the house arrest of Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed and his four aides for 90 days more under the country's anti- terrorism act.
Punjab government spokesman Malik Ahmed Khan, while confirming that the notification for Saeed's arrest has been issued, said, the provincial government will defend its action in the Lahore High Court.
"Jammat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed and his associates -- Prof Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid, Qazi Kashif Hussain and Abdullah Ubaid -- will remain under house arrest for another 90 days," a senior official of the Punjab province's Home Department told PTI.

"Saeed's Jauhar Town house while other four's Chauburji residence have been declared sub-jail," the official said.
He said their detention has been extended under the country's anti-terrorism act.
The government on January 30 had put Saeed and his four aides under house arrest in Lahore for their alleged involvement in activities prejudicial to peace and security. The house arrest was made for a period of 90 days that ended last night.

According to media reports, the Nawaz Sharif government had detained Saeed after the Trump administration, which had just taken over, had told Pakistan that it may face sanctions if it did not act against JuD and its chief.

The Jamaat-ud Dawah (JuD), the front group of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, and its sister organisation Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), had also been put under terror watch on the basis of a report sent by the ministry of foreign affairs.
Saeed, along with his four aides, has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court challenging his detention through senior advocate A K Dogar.
During the previous hearing on the petition earlier this month, the Punjab government had told the Lahore High Court that no violation of law had been made in their detention as it had reasons to believe that the JuD and FIF are engaged in activities which can be prejudicial to peace and security.

Saeed and his aides allege in their petition that the government detained them without any legal justification.
Saeed was also put under house arrest after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, but he was freed by a court in 2009.
He has a bounty of USD 10 million on his head for his role in terror activities.