Pakistan releases militant wanted by US

Pakistan has released a militant wanted by U.S. authorities from house arrest. 

The Associated Press reported Saturday that Hafiz Saeed, the alleged founder of the militant group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, was released from detention in Lahore this week following a court order.

Lashkar-e-Tayyiba was behind the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that left 168 people dead, and Saeed is designated as a terrorist by the U.S. and Indian governments. The Justice Department has a $10 million bounty out for his capture.

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A spokesman for Saeed hailed the release as a “victory of truth,” according to the AP, calling the allegations against him “baseless.”

“Hafiz Saeed was under house arrest on baseless allegations and jail officials came to his home last night and told him that he is now free,” Yahya Mujahid said.

Saeed has been detained periodically by the Pakistani government since the Mumbai attack. This most recent term of house arrest began in January. This week, a three-judge panel ordered his release after rejecting the government’s request to keep him in detention.

The move to free Saeed infuriated officials in India and the U.S., who have urged Pakistan to punish those responsible for the Mumbai attacks.

“The United States is deeply concerned that Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed has been released from house arrest in Pakistan,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

“LeT is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent civilians in terrorist attacks, including a number of American citizens. The Pakistani government should make sure that he is arrested and charged for his crimes.”

According to the AP, Raveesh Kumar, a spokesman for India’s External Affairs Ministry, said Saeed’s release “confirms once again the lack of seriousness on the part of Pakistani government in bringing to justice perpetrators of heinous acts of terrorism.”