Former Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday demanded Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed’s release, saying he had been placed under house arrest because of pressure from India. In an interview, Musharraf said India was against Saeed and the JuD because “their supporters go voluntarily to India-held-Kashmir to fight with the Indian Army”, Dawn reported.

Accusing India’s armed forces of terrorism in Kashmir, Musharraf said the JuD was banned by the United Nations because of New Delhi’s insistence. “In my opinion, they [the JuD] are against Taliban, they did not commit terrorism in Pakistan or anywhere in the world.” The former president said that Saeed’s organisations was contributing to social and relief activities in the country, adding that the country should not call them terrorists.

Meanwhile, the JuD requested Pakistan’s Interior Ministry to remove Saeed and 37 others from the country’s Exit Control List on the grounds that the outfit was not involved in any terrorist activities, The Express Tribune reported. In its application, the JuD said it that was an organisation “dedicated to the welfare of citizens of the country”. “It has set up 142 schools and four universities in the country and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation [a sister outfit] is sufficient proof to this effect,” the application said.

Earlier this month, the outfit and its supporters had threatened to launch countrywide protests on February 5 unless Saeed was released. Since Saeed’s house arrest on January 30, rallies have been held in a number of regions in Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Lower Dir and Mansehra. JuD members have held demonstrations, holding up placards and chanting anti-India and anti-US slogans.