LHC upholds objection on plea against JuD chief’s detention

Says the petitioner is not an aggrieved party; the petition does not have locus standi

LAHORE: Upholding its registrar office’s objection, the Lahore High Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a petition filed against detention of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed.

Saeed and his four aides were put under house arrest on January 30 for 3 months for activities to ‘harm peace and security’. Their organisations – Falah-e-Insaaniat Foundation and the JuD – were also included in the watch-list.



The LHC judge Justice Erum Sajjad Gul held that the petitioner is not an aggrieved party, and, therefore, has no right to file this petition before the court.

Appearing before the court, the petitioner – Sarfaraz Hussain Advocate – submitted that the LHC registrar office had put an objection on his petition by declaring it as lacking locus standi. He requested the court to overrule the objection.

Sarfaraz submitted that security forces detained Saeed under section 11 EEE (1) of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 at his house. He said in the notification issued by the Punjab home department, it was said that they have detained him for his violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1267.

He said this detention showed double standards of the UN and Pakistan government.  “If the UN is too much concerned about its resolutions then why it is not implementing its resolution for plebiscite in Kashmir?” he questioned.



He said Saeed had already been detained for more than 9 months but nothing could be found against him. He said the JuD chief’s detention was illegal and unconstitutional and prayed to the court to issue directions for his production before the court and freedom.

However, the judge refused to entertain the petition and upheld the registrar office’s objection.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2017.