Hafiz Saeed spreading terrorism in the name of jihad: Pakistan

Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamat-ud Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed and his four aides have been detained for "spreading terrorism in the name of jihad", Pakistan's interior ministry has told a judicial review board.

Saeed appeared before the board on Saturday and told it that he had been detained by the Pakistani government in order to stop him for raising voice for Kashmiris.

After rejecting his arguments, the interior ministry told the three-member board, headed by Pakistan Supreme Court judge Ejaz Afzal Khan, that Saeed and his four aides have been detained for "spreading terrorism in the name of jihad".

The board comprises of two other judges - Justice Ayesha A Malik of Lahore High Court and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail of Balochistan High Court. The board directed the ministry to submit a complete record regarding detention of Saeed and his aides - Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid, Abdullah Ubaid and Qazi Kashif Niaz on next hearing on May 15.

"The allegations levelled by the government against me had never been proved by any state institution. My organisation and I have been victimised for raising voice for freedom of Kashmir and criticising the government’s weak policy on the Kashmir issue," Saeed said.

He said that he had been placed under house in order to stop him for raising voice for Kashmiri people. Saeed appealed to the board to set aside the Punjab government's detention order.

In past, India had produced evidences of Saeed being involved in Mumbai terror attack, in which 166 people lost their lives.

He was detained in January and put under house arrest.

- - With PTI inputs