Hafiz Saeed, aides' house arrest extended for 90 more days

The JuD chief and his four aides' earlier detention period expired on Sunday

LAHORE: The Punjab government extended on Sunday the detention (house arrest) period of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and four of his aides for another 90 days for their activities that "harmed peace and security".

Saeed and other JuD office-bearers including Abdullah Ubaid of Faisalabad, Zafar Iqbal and Abdul Rehman Abid of Markaz-e-Tayyaba Muridke and Kashif Niazi of Multan were placed under house arrest on January 30 for 90 days. A government official told The Express Tribune that their detention period had expired on Sunday so it was extended for 90 more days.



The JuD and its wing the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) were placed on the watch list and put on the second schedule under Section 11-EEE(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the government was taking steps to fulfil its international obligations.

Saeed is being kept at his residence, 116-E, in Johar Town, Lahore. The interior ministry in its order had stated that the JuD and the FIF, a charity and public welfare arm of the JuD , were taking steps that were harmful to peace and security and involved in activities that violated the UNSC Resolution 1267.

It had also said the two organisations were being put on the watch list as per the UN Security Council sanctions.

Under Section 11-EEE(1) of the ATA, the federal government, after putting a proscribed person in the fourth schedule, can detain him for a period of 12 months by extending this period from time to time. After completion of 12 months, the government should have to present the detainee before a judicial commission if it desires to extend his detention beyond 12 months.



Saeed and his aides have challenged their detention and their names being added to the fourth schedule in the Lahore High Court.

On February 21, the JuD chief also challenged the interior ministry’s decision of putting his name on the Exit Control List with 37 of his other aides.

A number of JuD and FIF pamphlets were also made part of the petition, which highlighted the organisation’s 'volunteer work’ in different parts of the country.