Hafiz Saeed placed under house arrest: JuD chief faces threat from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan?

A Pakistan-based political analyst, Dr Shahid Masood has claimed that Hafiz Saeed was placed under house arrest as he faces threat from terror outfit Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Islamabad: The house arrest of Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) chief and 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed is being seen as a result of international pressure especially from the United States of America, but the truth seems to be something else.

A Pakistan-based political analyst, Dr Shahid Masood, has now claimed that Saeed - a UN-designated terrorist - was placed under house arrest as he faces threat from terror outfit Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which operates from Afghanistan.

Appearing on a Pakistani news channel, Dr Masood claimed that TTP has planned to dispatch its men and activated sleeper cells in Sindh and Punjab province in Pakistan to target Hafiz Saeed.

Some calls and messages originating from Afghanistan were also intercepted by the Pakistani security agencies, which indicated that Saeed may be targeted, and this was possibly the reason why he was placed under house arrest and his security was tightened.

Saeed and four other JuD leaders were put under house arrest after order of detention was issued by Punjab Province's Interior Ministry on Monday in pursuance to a directive from the Federal Interior Ministry on January 27.

In an unusual move, Pakistan's Army on Tuesday said the detention of the Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed was a "policy decision in the national interest" as the government announced that the Jamat-ud Dawa leader's 90-day house arrest could be extended if required.

JuD is the front for the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror outfit which is responsible for the Mumbai terror strike of November 26, 2008. It has already been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014.

India reacted cautiously to the reports of detention of Mumbai attack mastermind and Saeed and four others under an anti-terrorism act by Pakistan.

"We have also noted that Hafiz Saeed and four others have been placed under preventive detention. Exercises such as yesterday's orders against Hafiz Saeed and others have been carried out by Pakistan in the past also. Only a credible crack down on the mastermind of the Mumbai terrorist attack and terrorist organisations involved in cross border terrorism would be proof of Pakistan's sincerity," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.