Lashkar-e-Toiba founder released

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Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the founder of the Lashkar-e-Toiba militant group, was released by Pakistani authorities on Wednesday morning.

His release was ordered by a court in Lahore on Tuesday.

Mr Saeed, who runs the controversial Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity, has been in detention since 10 August.

The US has listed Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a terrorist organisation. It says the charity is a fundraising front for Lashkar-e-Toiba.

The court ordered Mr Saeed's release once before, on 28 August, but the Punjab government rearrested him hours later under a public order law.

Pakistan has banned Lashkar-e-Toiba but has so far described Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a legitimate Islamic charity with relief operations in the earthquake hit areas of Kashmir and northern Pakistan.

However, in response to a petition challenging Mr Saeed's detention, a government official on Monday argued that Mr Saeed's activities could damage Pakistan's relations with its neighbours.

Officials in India linked Lashkar-e-Toiba to the Mumbai (Bombay) train bombings in July in which more than 180 people were killed.