Pak. court frees Hafiz Saeed

Jammat-Ud-Dawa chief is one of the masterminds of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks

Jamaat-Ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed outside the court in Lahore
on Wednesday

A Pakistan court on Wednesday ordered the release of Hafiz Saeed, the Chief of Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JuD) and one of the alleged masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed more than 160 people.

A review board of the Lahore High Court overruled the government's request to extend the detention citing that Saeed's release may trigger international sanctions against Pakistan.

"Concept of justice cannot be brutalized and terrorized in the same of the fight against terrorism," the High Court said its ruling.

"The review board looking into the case...has refused to extend his house arrest as the government failed to provide any evidence against the charges," Amhed Naudeen, a spokesman for the JuD, said.

Saeed, who carries a bounty of  $10 million announced by the U.S for his role in terror activities, has been under house arrest since January this year.

He was greeted by dozens of his followers outside the court after the verdict.

"Hafiz Saeed is a free man. God is great," his social media spokesman tweeted.

Last month, authorities had withdrawn terrorism charges against Saeed and the JuD, a front of the terror organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, and kept him in detention under the Maintenance of Public Order Act, paving the way for his release.