LHC orders govt not to harass JuD chief

Hafiz Saeed allowed continue social welfare activities

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday ordered the government not to harass Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed and to allow him to continue his social welfare activities until further orders.

Justice Aminuddin Khan heard Saeed's petition which was filed on his behalf by advocate AK Dogar.

The court held the hearing for a petition filed by JuD against governmental barriers curtailing their social welfare activities. The court sent a notice to the federal and provincial governments and sought a reply by April 23.



The court also ordered to club all the petitions filed by JuD. "JuD has always participated in and contributed to social welfare activities," the petition read. Saeed's argument was that the government, under pressure from the United States and India, is trying to curb his welfare activities.

"To stop a person or an organisation from welfare activities is against the Constitution," the petition further read. It further pleaded to the court that JuD be allowed to continue their activities, and to put an end to the government's harassment.

On April 3, US State Department's move to identify the Milli Muslim League (MML) and Tehreek-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir (TAJK) as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) affiliates has left MML and TAJK leaders stunned.

The fact that the TAJK has also been listed as an LeT affiliate has left MML leaders particularly curious. The movement is not registered. It is just a small group of people striving for Kashmiris’ rights, he said.



Pakistan had proscribed the TAJK earlier, the MML leader said. He said Jamaatud Dawa supremo Hafiz Saeed’s move to declare 2017 as the year of Kashmir had left India vexed. The MML leader blamed the United State-India nexus for the move.