Pak frees 26/11 accused

TAINTED: Hafiz Md Saeed (inset) is the key suspect in the Nov 26 terror strikes on Mumbai.

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Lahore: A Pakistani court on Tuesday ordered the release of a hard-line Islamist cleric allegedly linked to last year's deadly attacks in Mumbai, his lawyer said, setting the stage for a new round of tensions between India and Pakistan.

The Lahore High Court's decision to free Hafiz Mohammed Saeed came amid growing tension in Pakistan's northwest, where security forces on Tuesday rescued dozens of students and teachers kidnapped by militants and where the army continues to battle Taliban fighters in the Swat Valley.

India has demanded Pakistan vigorously pursue those behind the November siege of its commercial capital that killed 164 people and left nine of 10 gunmen dead.

Pakistan has said it took several alleged suspects into custody, including Saeed, the head of a charity that the UN says is a front group for Lashkar-e-Toeba, (LeT) the militant organization blamed in the attack.

But Pakistan has a poor track record of prosecuting alleged militant leaders, and India and Pakistan argued for weeks after the attack over the proper amount of evidence needed to convict the suspected masterminds.

On Tuesday morning, Saeed's lawyer, A K Dogar, emerged from the courthouse to declare that jurists had decided Saeed's continued detention was without basis. A copy of the court order could not immediately be obtained.

Saeed spokesman Yahya Mujahid told The Associated Press that the cleric was under house arrest in Lahore, which is in eastern Pakistan near the Indian border. Saeed's detention dates to December.

Saeed helped establish Lashkar-e-Toeba two decades ago to fight Indian rule in Kashmir. After the group was banned, Saeed set up an Islamic charity called Jamaat-ud-Dawa.

Mujahid said Tuesday's decision vindicated the stance of Saeed's supporters that Jamaat-ud-Dawa is not linked to terrorism.

"We hope this order will be implemented," he said. "Our organization is working to serve the suffering humanity."