Pakistani Islamist Hafiz Saeed released from house arrest

Islamabad: Pakistani Islamist Hafiz Saeed, seen as the mastermind of a 2008 militant assault in the Indian financial hub of Mumbai in which 166 people were killed, has been released from house arrest, his religious charity said on Friday.

Hafiz Saeed, head of the Pakistani religious party, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, waves on his arrival to a court in Lahore, Pakistan. Pic/AFP

"He is free, we are happy. Thank God there is no more restriction," Nadeem Awan, a spokesman for Islamist charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa, told Reuters. Saeed has been under house arrest since January after living freely in Pakistan for years. He has always denied playing a role in the Mumbai attacks.

A court on Wednesday ordered an end to his house arrest.