Pakistan authorities have put under house arrest a pro-Taliban Islamic leader who called for a jihad against the US for its attacks on Afghanistan, officials said.
The Maulana [Mr Azam Tariq] was handed a two-month house arrest order yesterday, a spokesman of the Sunni militant Sipah-e-Sahabah Pakistan group said. He was apparently put under house arrest for holding rallies and leading processions, the spokesman said.
There was no official government comment on the action but if confirmed, Mr Tariq would be the second pro-Taliban leader to be formally put under house arrest since the US attacks on Afghanistan began.
Mr Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of a faction of the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam party, is already serving three months of house arrest.