House arrest of Hafiz Saeed: Indian HC welcomes decision

Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale Tuesday welcomed the government of Pakistan's steps against Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.
Talking to a group of reporters on the occasion of inauguration of the newly constructed Palestinian Embassy Complex here at the Diplomatic Enclave, the Indian envoy said that the recent step taken by the government of Pakistan against the JuD is "welcoming".
"The government of India has long been demanding to ban the JuD and we think it should be banned permanently," he said.
According to a handout issued by the Ministry of Interior here on Monday, the JuD's chief Hafiz Saeed along with group's other members including Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niazi have been taken into protective custody.
While the JuD and the Falah-i-Insaaniat Foundation (FIF), a charity organisation affiliated with the JuD, have been included in the Second Schedule and will be placed on the government's watch list for six months under Section (1) 11EEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
To a question about investigations into Mumbai terrorist attack, the Indian High Commissioner said that travel of the eyewitnesses of the attack to Pakistan is difficult and the government of India has asked the government of Pakistan to send its judicial commission to India for recording statements of the eyewitnesses. He said that Pakistan's judicial commission had also visited India in the past in this regard.