Hafiz Saeed, JuD Chief And Mumbai Attack Mastermind, Put Under House Arrest

Jamaat ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack Hafiz Saeed has been put under house arrest, Dunya News reported today (30 January).

According to the Nuqta-e-Nazar host Ajmal Jami, the terrorist has been arrested placed under arrest at the Qadisiyyah Mosque near Chouburji, Lahore. In its report, the news channel said that JuD will most likely be banned tonight.

Talking to media, Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar has said that the measure has been taken according to certain reservations expressed by United Nations (UN). He told reporters in Islamabad that Pakistan is "under obligation to take some action" as JuD is blacklisted internationally and has been under observation for years. "The situation will be clear on this by tomorrow," he added.

JuD spokesman Yahya Mujahid has confirmed the news of Saeed’s arrest, Reuters reported. "These steps are being taken to please India," the news agency quoted him as saying.

Update (11:05 PM): Saeed has reportedly released a video, saying that the warm friendship between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump has led to his arrest. We could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Update (11:20 PM): According to journalist Aditya Raj Kaul, Saeed was arrested after China expressed its inability to save Pakistan from sanctions. Beijing has asked Islamabad to control Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar, he said on Twitter.

Update (11:35 PM): Order for “preventive detention” was issued on 29 January 2017. The Ministry of Interior has "placed Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) on the Watch List as per UNSC 1267 Sanctions and have listed these organizations in the Second Schedule of the ATA 1997 (as amended)“, the document reads. His aides, identified as Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz, have also been arrested.

Update (8:22 AM): Saeed spoke to media in Lahore after being put under ‘house arrest’. New Delhi and Washington have ordered my arrest, he said.