24 October 2011 - 20:30

The Punjab Government on Tuesday extended the detention period of banned outfit Lashkar-e- Jhangvi (LeJ) leader Malik Ishaq for a further 60 days.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Ishaq has been imprisoned in a Rahim Yar Khan jail since September 25 under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Act, sources familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune.

In this regard the Punjab’s Home Department has issued the orders which have also been conveyed the jail authorities as well as the police and district administration.

According to the Home Department’s orders, the extension period of another 60 days takes effect from October 25, sources in the prison department revealed.

The former chief of the banned outfit was allegedly involved in 44 murder cases in which 70 people mostly belong to the Shia community.

He was released on bail from Kot Lakhpat Jail Lahore on July 14 in a case regarding the attack on the  Sri Lankan cricket team by the order of the Supreme Court.

Ishaq had been in jail since 1997 for allegedly killing 12 members of Fida Hussain Ghalvi’s family, in addition to being allegedly involved in killing 58 other people in various incidents of sectarian violence. He is one of the founders of the terrorist outfit LeJ, a key suspect in the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009.

He was granted bail by the apex court after the prosecution failed to prove his involvement in the case.

Ishaq was acquitted in 34 out of 44 cases while in the remaining 10 he had already been granted bail, official documents revealed.

Intelligence and law enforcement agencies’ reports have revealed that the banned organization’s leader is engaged in highly objectionable activities which may spark sectarian violence in Punjab.

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