Hafiz Saeed’s house arrest was in Pakistan’s “larger interest” as he could pose a “serious threat” to the country, Defence Minister Khawaza Asif has said in the first public admission of the JuD chief’s terror links.
Mr. Asif’s remarks about the danger posed by the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks — in which 166 people died — came at an international security conference in Munich, Germany. “Saeed can pose a serious threat to society,” the Minister told the audience at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, The Nation reported. Saeed was “arrested in the larger interest of the country,” he added.
Saeed was placed under house arrest under the Schedule IV of the Anti-Terrorism Act on January 30 in Lahore, provoking an uproar from his party and allies. Saeed’s inclusion in the list shows he is linked with militancy in some way. He was earlier this month put on the Exit Control List, barring him from leaving the country. In 2008, he was placed under house arrest after the Mumbai attacks, but was freed by a court in 2009.
He carries a reward of $10 million announced by the U.S. for his role in terror activities. During a panel discussion on countering extremism and terrorism, Mr. Asif said: “Terrorism is not synonymous to any religion. Terrorists aren’t Christians or Muslims or Buddhists or Hindus. They are terrorists, they are criminals.”
In a statement critical of the American policies, Mr. Asif said Pakistan was determined to fight terrorism: “Let me assure the world community that Pakistan is a frontline state in this war and it will continue to fulfil its obligations to its own people and the international community but if the West’s policies are going to be isolationist, it won’t help the fight against terrorism, only fuel it.”
