Reacting on Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed’s house arrest, former Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf on February 16 said that it is due to the growing pressure from India that the step has been taken and also demanded the release of JuD leader.
On January 30, this year Hafiz Saeed was put under house arrest. The decision was followed by rallies in various regions in Pakistan and protestors were shouting anti-India and anti-USA slogans. JuD supporters had also warned of countrywide protests if Saeed was not released.
As per a report in Pakistani newspaper Dawn, Musharraf was quoted as saying: “In my opinion, they (the JuD) are against Taliban and should be treated in a different manner as they have never committed any crime either in Pakistan or anywhere else in the world. JuD was banned by United Nations after insistence from India and now we are following the same path again.”
Earlier, Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and the mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai attack, Hafiz Saeed had asked the Pakistan government to remove his name from the Exit control list claiming he is not a security risk to the country. In a letter written to the interior ministry’s department of ECL, Hafiz said, “A memorandum issued on Jan 30, 2017 placing 38 individuals should be withdrawn.”
He added, “The JuD has never been involved in any terrorist activity in Pakistan and no incident of any terrorism or destruction of property was ever alleged against the organisation.”
The interior ministry has put JuD and Falah-e-Insaniyat on a “watch-list” for six months. He argued that no material has ever been produced by federal or provincial governments against him in a court of law.
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