New Delhi: Pakistan’s latest “house arrest” of UN designated terrorist and Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafeez Saeed is another eyewash as a latest video shows the office of the proscribed organisation located in the heart of Lahore open for business, the day after he was taken to “preventive custody”.
The video sourced independently by CNN-News18 shows the LeT office in Model Town, Lahore, buzzing with activity on Tuesday morning.
LeT is headquartered in Muridke near Lahore, and the Model Town office is mostly used by the terror outfit for recruitment.
Saeed, who now operates through a charity called Jamaat ud-Dawa (a front for Lashkar) is the mastermind of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, and was placed under “house arrest” in Lahore on Monday night.
Saeed was detained at Lahore’s Jamia Masjid Al Qadsia Chowburji. Apart from Saeed, four others have reportedly been placed under “house arrest”.
They were identified as JuD founding member Zafar Iqbal, editor of JuD magazine Kazi Kashif Nawaz and members Abdu Rehman Abid and Abdullah Ubaid. All five will reportedly be produced in court within 24 hours.
New Delhi has already dismissed the Pakistani action saying this has happened many times before.
Also Read: India Reacts Cautiously to Reports of Hafiz Saeed’s Detention
According to Pakistani media reports, Saeed negotiated for over two hours before his arrest at Qudsia Masjid. He demanded to see arrest warrant, and finally negotiated to release a media statement before arrest.
A video showing him ranting against an alleged conspiracy by new US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to have shot from inside a car in transit.
“It (the house arrest order) is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s insistence, and (US President Donald) Trump’s instigation… the Pakistani government’s compromise. If they think that our detentions can push the Kashmir cause back, this will never happen. God willing, our movement will continue until Kashmir is liberated,” Saeed said in the statement.
Sources told News18 that the action against Saeed follows a meeting between US Assistant Secretary of State and Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan Ambassador to US.
The State Department official conveyed to Jilani to clamp down on the finances of JUD and another charity believed to be operated by Lashkar as a front.
He told the Pakistan envoy that Islamabad was running the risk of being blacklisted by financial action task force.
Consequently, Pakistan has also issued orders to all banks and commercial establishments freezing assets of all JuD entities.
Saeed is also wanted by the US government, which has offered a 10 million US dollar reward.