Saeed not under arrest says police

ISLAMABAD: JuD chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed, blamed by India for masterminding the Mumbai attacks, is not under arrest or protective custody, a top police official has said amid contradictory reports about his status in the run-up to Indo-Pak Foreign Ministers' meeting.

Punjab police Chief Tariq Saleem Dogar said Saeed is not under arrest or house arrest and he has also not been placed in protective custody.

Saeed, also the founder of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), has only been "advised" and "requested" to restrict his movements for the sake of his own safety and security, Dogar told a news conference in Rawalpindi.

His remarks came as India demanded speedy investigation of the accused in the Mumbai terror attacks, particularly Saeed.

The issue is set to dominate the meeting between External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

Other Pakistani police officials, including Lahore police chief Pervaiz Rathore, however, have been maintaining that Saeed has been put under house arrest following registration of two cases against him under Anti-Terrorism Act for inciting people to wage 'jehad' and seeking funds for his banned group.

Saeed has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking quashing of the two FIRs. His lawyer A K Dogar claimed that the FIRs were "without lawful authority and of no legal effect. -PTI