Protests follow house arrest of Hafiz Saeed

LAHORE: Protests were held in major cities on Tuesday after Hafiz Saeed, who heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) group and has a $10 million bounty on his head, was placed under "preventative detention", according to an order from the Interior Ministry. This detention may also be called house arrest. Police took Saeed away from a mosque in Lahore late Monday and escorted him to his residence, hours after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar had hinted action against him was imminent.

JuD, listed as a terror outfit by the United Nations, is considered by the US and India to be a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the militant group blamed for the attack on India’s financial capital which killed more than 160 people.

Some 300 JuD activists staged a demonstration in  Islamabad, burning the flags of India and the United States, while a similar number protested in the central city of Multan. In Azad Kashmir, the group staged a joint rally with the Hizbul Mujahideen.

"Kashmiris see Hafiz Saeed as their messiah and they will continue his mission. The government of Pakistan should behave and release him immediately," said Abdul Aziz Alvi, a local JuD leader.

JuD has also announced it will challenge in court the detention order, which places the group and a foundation tied to it on a watch list and also places four other men under arrest. Islamabad has not officially commented on the move´s timing.

Following a brief period of house arrest in 2008, Saaed led a high-profile public life and regularly delivered fiery anti-India speeches. JuD has operated freely across the country and is popular for its charity work, especially in the wake of natural disasters.

But a senior security source based in Islamabad said the decision was in response to US pressure as well as a global perception that Pakistan has refused to tackle Islamist groups which pose no risk at home but carry out attacks abroad. "Yesterday´s actions were in fact a huge event," he said.

"There´s been increasing US pressure on the issue, which compelled Pakistan to take this action. There has also been Indian pressure. They have always said unless you take certain steps things can´t move forward. So the move effectively kills two beasts with one arrow. Now India won´t have a chance to criticise Pakistan,” he said.

Amir Rana, a security analyst, said Islamabad had come to realise it was facing increasing isolation over its alleged dealings with proxy fighters. "There was some stress on Pakistan´s foreign policy especially around this group," he said.