Pakistan army says Hafiz Saeed's house arrest is in 'national interest'

Islamabad: In a surprise move, the Pakistan's military on Tuesday said that the house arrest of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the founder of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, was decided keeping the decision of national interest in mind. 

"This is a policy decision that the state took in national interest. The decision to place Hafiz Saeed under house arrest was taken collectively by all state institutions," said Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations, the army's media arm. 

Interestingly, while Maj Gen Ghafoor denied that Saeed was arrested due to any foreign pressure, the Jamat-ud-Dawa chief himself said, "My detention order has come from Washington and not Islamabad." 

Ghafoor said, "I'd be able to elaborate on the matter as time passes," indicating there was no plan to relax restrictions on Saeed any time soon. Saeed had been roaming free despite spewing venom against India for years. 

Saeed's supporters said President Donald Trump was leaning on Islamabad to please the current right-wing BJP government in India.

Some observers also claimed that Islamabad had not been contacted by the new US administration on the issue but the decisions that Trump took against Muslim countries pushed Pakistan to act against Saeed.