PESHAWAR, Oct 7: The NWFP government has placed Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, under house arrest in his native village Abdul Khel some 25 kms short of D. I. Khan.

According to his party sources, when Maulana Fazl reached his home town at 12 o’clock last night, a heavy contingent of the police and Frontier Constabulary were waiting for him. The police and the FC laid a siege around his house for several hours.

On early Sunday morning, at 5.30am, a senior police official approached to Maulana Fazl and asked him verbally that he had been placed under house arrest for precautionary measures as the Punjab government had put a ban on former’s entry into Punjab.

The JUI chief, party sources claimed, was to address a public meeting on Sunday in Multan. But, the Punjab government had put a ban on his entry in the limits of the province.

Maulana has been a key supporter of the Taliban since they came into power six year ago. He had been campaigning in favour of Taliban and against the US revenge threat since Sept 11.

The JUI activists at a protest meeting in Peshawar warned that they would launch an anti-government campaign from Oct 9, if the government failed to free him.

The chief of Jamiat UIema Islam(S), Maulana Samiul Haq, was put under house arrest at Akora Khattak here on Sunday. However, police and sources in the intelligence agencies denied the report, Our Mansehra correspondent adds.

Close relatives of Maulana Samiul Haq quoting a foreign news agency said that the JUI (S) chief was put under house arrest at Akora Khattak.

In the meantime, angry protesters took out procession to condemn the house arrest of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Amir of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema Islam.

The demonstration was attended by JUI(F) patron in chief Maulana Abdus Salam, JUI district Nazim Haji Yousaf Khan and other party leaders. The processionists marched through different roads and bazaars and turned into a public meeting on GT Road.

ISLAMABAD: The PML on Sunday condemned the military government for putting Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maulana Sami-ul-Haq under house arrest and demanded their immediate release, writes our staff reporter.