LAHORE -- A defiant JuD chief Hafiz Saeed said his detention would give a "fresh impetus" to the Kashmiris' "struggle against India" as the Mumbai attack mastermind was placed under a 90-day house arrest which the government on Tuesday indicated could be extended.
Saeed was detained on Monday at JuD's Lahore headquarters at Masjid Al-Qudsia Chauburji and was later shifted to his Jauhar Town residence which has been declared as a sub-jail by authorities in Punjab province.
"The government has detained Saeed and four other JuD and Falaha-i-Insanyat (FIF) leaders for 90 days with effect from January 30 but this detention may further be extended on completion of this period if required," an Interior Ministry official told PTI.
The government may take some further steps against the JuD and its sister organisations in coming days, the official said, adding that the names of several activists of JuD and FIF, a charity run by Saeed, have been placed on Exit Control List (ECL) to stop them from leaving the country.
Saeed and four other JuD leaders were taken into custody and put under house arrest following order of detention was issued by Punjab Province's Interior Ministry yesterday in pursuance to a directive from the Federal Interior Ministry on January 27.
"Although they belong to different districts of Punjab but the government has decided to place them under arrest in one house in Lahore," he said.
Saeed, who was allowed to hold a press conference before he left for his home along with dozens of his supporters amid high police security, said, "My detention order has come from Washington and not Islamabad."
"If someone thinks that placing me under house arrest will help check freedom movement in Kashmir he is living in a fool's paradise. My arrest will give a fresh impetus to the Kashmiris' struggle against India," he said.
68-year-old Saeed further said if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinks that he would get respite in Kashmir after his arrest he is seriously mistaken.
"We have declared 2017 a year of solidarity for Kashmiris," he said adding that all programmes planned for February 5 will be held across Pakistan and PoK.
He vowed to challenge his house arrest in the Lahore High Court.
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