LHC orders release of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed

The Punjab government asked for an extension to Saeed's detention but the request was turned down by the court

LAHORE: A provincial review board has rejected the Punjab government’s request to extend detention of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, paving the way for his release from a house arrest that was started earlier this year.

The three-member board, headed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) judge Abdul Sami Khan and comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Aalia Neelum, on Wednesday ordered the provincial government to release Saeed, ‘if he is not required in any other case’.

The Punjab government in January this year placed JuD chief and his four aides – Prof Zafar Iqbal, Mufti Abdur Rehman Abid, Maulana Ubaidullah Obaid and Qazi Kashif Niaz –  under house arrest for their alleged activities to ‘harm peace and security’.



The action had come after a statement from then interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who had said the government was taking steps to fulfill its international obligations regarding JuD.

The organisations run by Saeed – the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and JuD – were also placed on the watch list while he was put on the second schedule under Section 11-EEE(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. Saeed was detained at his residence in Lahore’s Johar Town which was declaring a sub-jail.

Later, the government kept extending detention period on its own under Maintenance of Public Order till an approval obtained from the review board, which on October 19 extended Saeed’s detention for one month but turned down the request to further extend house arrest of his aides.

On Wednesday, the JuD chief was presented before the board amid heightened security as the Punjab government sought a three-month extension in Saeed’s detention which is to set to expire on Thursday (today).

During the in-camera proceedings, officers from the Punjab finance ministry and the home department took a stance that Pakistan could face international sanctions if Saeed was released. A government’s law officer also claimed that the JuD chief’s detention was also in his favour.



The judges asked the government officials to present an evidence to prove the involvement of the JuD chief in any illegal or anti-state activity.

However, the officials failed to give any satisfactory answers to the queries posed by members of the board regarding Saeed’s alleged anti-state activities. The board, being dissatisfied with the government’s view, set aside the request to extend detention of Saeed and ordered his release.

On Wednesday as Saeed was brought to the LHC, many JuD members showered rose petals on him. Talking to media, he later applauded the verdict, claiming that India had to face great embarrassment due to the verdict.

In April 2012, the US announced a bounty of $10 million on Saeed for his alleged role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Sanctions were also imposed on his organisations by the United Nations which designated them as terrorist organisations.

[poll id="1536"]