JuD chief serves legal notice on Asif

Tells foreign minister to tender apology or pay Rs100m in damages

LAHORE: Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Prof Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has sent a legal notice to Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif over his statements during a recent visit to the US.

The notice, served through advocate AK Dogar, says Asif should apologise within 14 days for levelling “false allegations against Saeed that he drinks alcohol and spends leisure time in the White House or be ready to pay Rs100 million in damages”.

During a press conference on Saturday, Dogar said the kind of language Asif used “is a very big crime” and he might be awarded five-year imprisonment for that.



The legal notice served on Asif says that Saeed is a talented person who has a high moral character and enjoys high respect.

“Your statements about him in the US have badly damaged his dignity in Pakistan and abroad. He and his party JuD are well known for their welfare services in Thar area of Sindh and [in] Balochistan. The Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees dignity and honour of every citizen,” says the notice.

“You should give an explanation regarding your allegations within 14 days. Strangely enough, you used such words against a citizen of Pakistan while you are the foreign minister. One cannot prove that Hafiz Saeed even went anywhere near the White House, let alone attending a party there and drinking alcohol. He is a patriot and an honourable citizen who has always preached the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Your statement wins you 5-year confinement under Section 500 of the Pakistan Penal Code,” it adds, warning the foreign minister.



Dogar told media-persons that while addressing the Asia Society “Asif said we should not be blamed for nurturing persons like Hafiz Saeed and Haqqani. Thirty years back these very persons used to visit White House and enjoyed food and alcohol there”. This, Dogar added, is a false allegation. He also said that Asif would have to bear all expanses of the case.

The JUD chief’s counsel said Pakistan was made on the basis of the Two-Nation Theory, and its Constitution is based on the Quran and Sunnah. “In such a situation, levelling false allegations on an honourable person is very bad. The problem with Asif is that he does not control his tongue. Such a person should not be the foreign minister of this country,” he added.