Board to review Hafiz Saeed’s detention on Nov 21

Law officer asks LHC it will be appropriate to wait for outcome of the review board meeting

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) was informed on Friday that provincial review board would meet on November 21 (Tuesday) to review the detention of Jamaatud Daawa (JuD) Chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.

A provincial law officer made the statement before Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmad, who was hearing a petition filed by the JuD chief challenging his detention orders, issued under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance.

The law officer submitted that it would be appropriate to wait for the outcome of the review board meeting. He requested the court to adjourn the matter.



The court adjourned the hearing till Nov 22 and directed the officer to apprise the court of the meeting outcome, on the next hearing.

Hafiz Saeed, through his lawyer AK Dogar Advocate, had challenged his detention orders submitting that the requirements laid by the Supreme Court for the purpose were not fulfilled. He requested the court to set aside the detention and order his release.

The provincial authorities had detained Hafiz Saeed and his four aides under Section 11-EEE (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1977, on January 31. But, in October, the government did not extend the notification for their detention under ATA sections and withdrew application pending before the federal review board for their extension.



The authorities, however, decided to keep Saeed and his aides under
house arrest under Section 3 of the MPO.

However, on October 19, the provincial review board extended the detention of Saeed for another 30 days but rejected the request of extending the detention of his four aides, which was lapsed on October 26.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2017.