Hafiz Saeed threat to us, says Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif

ISLAMABAD: Hafiz Saeed’s house arrest was in Pakistan’s “larger interest” as he can pose a “serious threat” to the country, Defence Minister Khawaza Asif has said in the first public admission of the JuD chief’s terrorism links.

Asif’s remarks about the danger posed by the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks - in which 166 people died - came at an international security conference in Munich. “Saeed can pose a serious threat to the society,” Asif told the audience at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, The Nation reported.

Saeed was “arrested in the larger interest of the country”, he added. Saeed was placed under house arrest under the fourth schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) on January 30 in Lahore, provoking an uproar from his party and allies.

Saeed’s inclusion in the list shows he is linked with militancy in some way. Saeed was earlier this month put on the Exit Control List, barring him from leaving the country.

Saeed was also put under house arrest after the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, but he was freed by a court in 2009.

He carries a reward of $10 million announced by the US for his role in terror activities. During a panel discussion on countering extremism and terrorism, Asif said: “Terrorism is not synonymous to any religion. Terrorists aren’t Christians or Muslims or Buddhists or Hindus.”