JuD Head Hafiz Saeed Put on Watch List, Protests Erupt in Pakistan

Chief of Pakistan’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Hafiz Saeed (C) leaves after being detained by police in Lahore on 31 January. (Photo: IANS)

Pakistan, on Wednesday, placed Jamaat-ud- Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed's name on the Exit Control List, two days after the Mumbai attack mastermind and his four aides were put under house arrest.

The Interior ministry has forwarded a letter to all provincial governments and the Federal Investigation Agency, which included names of 38 individuals placed on the list, preventing them from leaving the country. All of them were said to be linked with JuD or Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The ministry had “placed Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) on the Watch List as per UNSC 1267 Sanctions and have listed these organisations in the Second Schedule of the ATA 1997 (as amended).” “Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz are reportedly active members of the aforementioned organisations within the meaning of Section 11EEE(1) of the ATA 1997 (as amended),” read a notification issued by the ministry.

Saeed has been placed under a 90-day house arrest. There have been reports that Islamabad has immense pressure from new US administration to take action against Saeed and his organisations.

Saeed was also put under house arrest after Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 but he was freed by the court in 2009, which led to protests in Pakistan demanding his release.

India Should Come Up With Concrete Evidence Against Saeed: Pak

Pakistan on Wednesday snubbed India's demand for a "credible crackdown" against militant groups following Saeed’s detention, saying it does not need New Delhi's endorsement for its actions.

A spokesperson for the federal Interior Ministry said in a statement in response to Tuesday's statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs:

Pakistan does not need any certification or endorsement from India over the recent actions it has taken in relation to Hafiz Saeed.

“India has constantly been using Hafiz Saeed’s political activities as a tool to malign Pakistan,” the spokesperson said, adding that the international community should take note and understand that Pakistan is a democratic country.

The Interior Ministry urged New Delhi to come up with undeniable evidence against the JuD chief if it were serious about the allegations.

India should come up with concrete evidence against Hafiz Saeed which is sustainable in court of law in Pakistan or for that matter anywhere in the world.

Pakistani Official’s Statement

The ministry warned New Delhi against "casting aspersions and levelling allegations without any corroborating evidence", saying it would not help the cause of peace in the region.

FIR Will be Registered Against Haifz Saeed: Pak Minister

An FIR will be registered against Saeed, a senior Pakistani minister said, without clarifying under which case the Mumbai attack mastermind would be booked.

"Action against Saeed has been taken after taking all institutions on board. The government has put Saeed under house arrest for the time being but an FIR will be registered against him," Federal Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir said.

Asked under which case Saeed would be booked, Dastgir said, "It will be known in a few days".

Protesters Burn Modi and Trump Effigies

Syed Salahuddin, Hizb-ul Mujhadeen chief and chairman of United Jihad Council (UJC), said in a statement: "Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has not only been urging the international community to break its criminal silence on Kashmir, but he has also been exposing the atrocities of India's imperialistic regime."

In one such demonstration on Wednesday, demonstrators held an effigy, on which portraits of US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and flags of the US and India were affixed. The effigy and a banner with portraits of the duo and flags of both countries were torched afterwards.

The JuD leaders also warned the government of launching a protest movement if Saeed was not released immediately.

They said the responsibility would lie with the Nawaz Sharif government if the Kashmir movement suffered any disruption or weakness as result of Saeed's arrest. The protesters promised to take out a nationwide rally on 5 February on the instructions of Hafiz Saeed.

(With inputs from IANS and PTI)