Supporters of JUD leader Hafiz Saeed staged small protests on Tuesday and condemned the United States, after police detained the accused architect of an attack on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people in 2008. Saeed was held late on Monday at the headquarters of his charity before being placed under house arrest at his home in the eastern city of Lahore.
He denies involvement in the Mumbai attack.
The move follows a US visa ban by President Donald Trump aimed at countries deemed linked to terrorism, and, while Pakistan was not named, a Pakistani official said worry over the new administration was a factor in the decision.
Pressure from key ally China may also have played a role, according to senior officials, who say Beijing has for months been quietly lobbying Islamabad to crack down on Saeed and other Islamist leaders.
"Release Hafiz Saeed! ... Anyone who is a friend of the US is a traitor!" chanted about 150 members of Saeed's Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) in Karachi.
About 500 protesters shouted similar slogans outside the provincial assembly in Lahore. Demonstrations also were held in Islamabad, according to the JuD, which the United States says is a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group blamed for the Mumbai attack.
The Pakistani government has not officially commented on why it acted now.
A senior defence ministry official said the government had not been contacted by the new US administration, but it had been feeling American pressure on the issue.
"Trump is taking hard decisions against Muslim countries, there is open talk of actions against Pakistan also. So yes, this was a consideration," said the official, who declined to be identified.
Several other government officials have said recently that long-time ally China has been working to persuade Pakistan to act against wanted militants such as Saeed.
Officials in Beijing did not respond to queries on Tuesday, which falls during the Lunar New Year holiday.
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