Lahore, October 17:

A Pakistani court today ordered police to immediately release the former head of the Lashkar-e-Taiba Kashmiri militant group, his lawyer said.

Firebrand religious leader Hafez Mohammed Saeed was detained under public order laws in the eastern city of Lahore in August, hours after he was freed from a period of house arrest.

Lahore High Court today ruled that the detention was “illegal”, following a petition by Saeed’s wife, his lawyer Nazir Ahmed Ghazi said. “It’s a gift for all freedom-loving people for the (Muslim) holy month of Ramadan,” Ghazi said. Saeed was placed under house arrest in Lahore on August 9. His house arrest ended on August 29, but police raided his home and detained him later the same day.