LeJ leader Malik Ishaq placed under house arrest days after incident in Muzaffar Garh

 The Punjab government has placed Malik Ishaq under temporary house detention because of his attempts to stoke Sunni-Shia conflict since his release from prison two months ago, police said on Thursday.

A founding member of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Ishaq was allegedly involved in dozens of killings, but was released on bail in July after 14 years in prison because the Supreme Court decided there was not enough evidence to keep holding him.

He has been giving public speeches since his release whipping up anger toward Shias, said a police officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
His speeches were causing fresh vigor among its followers who were involved in regrouping and reorganizing themselves.

According to an official document prepared by a department working under Punjab government, available with The Express Tribune, Ishaq vowed to continue to kill “the enemies of the Sahaba (Prophet Muhammad PBUH’s companions)” at a seminar on September 4.
“LeJ is not a terrorist outfit. It was set up to ensure proper respect for the companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH),” Ishaq reportedly said.

 The provincial government on Wednesday ordered that Ishaq remain at home for 10 days, said Sohail Chattha, the police chief in Rahim Yar Khan where Ishaq lives.
Ishaq’s behaviour endangered “sectarian harmony and caused a sudden rise in sectarian temperature in the country,” said Chattha.

The similar activities were witnessed on September 18 when on the arrival of Malik Ishaq in Ali Pur of district Muzaffar Garh, hundreds of activists of LeJ gathered and started chanting anti shia slogans which caused an unfortunate incident killing two people and injuring at least 12 people.
Most Sunnis and Shias live together peacefully in the country, but extremists from both sides carry out attacks against the opposite sect.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility in a telephone call to a local journalist in Quetta, but that claim could not be verified.
Ishaq was arrested in 1997, and has been accused of a slew of crimes. In 2009, he was blamed for orchestrating an attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore. Six security officers and a driver died in that assault.  

Ishaq had been flouting government’s orders by traveling across the province, since he is on an anti-terrorism watch list and is required to request permission before leaving the jurisdiction of his local police station.