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| LHC orders release of Hafiz Saeed |
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
By our correspondent
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday ordered the release of Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and another leader of the group, Col (retd) Nazir Ahmad, observing that the government had insufficient grounds to detain them.
The order was announced by a three-member full bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhry, while accepting a habeas corpus petition filed against the detention of Hafiz Saeed through his counsel AK Dogar.
Justice Hasnat Ahmad Khan and Justice Zubda-tul-Hussain were other members of the bench. “After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and perusal of the case law on the subject as well as the material produced by the learned law officers in chamber, for the reasons to be delivered later on, with a unanimous view, we have held that this writ petition in the form of habeas corpus is maintainable as prima facie the government has no sufficient grounds to detain the petitioners for preventive measures,” the court observed.
It further observed: “So far as the UN resolution is concerned, there is no matter before us about its vires and the government can act upon the same in letter and spirit, if so advised, but relying upon the same their detention cannot be maintained as it was even not desired thereby.
“Hence, this writ petition is allowed, the impugned detention orders, including the subsequent orders passed in continuation thereof are quashed and both petitioners will be released forthwith, if not required in any other case,” the judges wrote in their order. Detailed order in this case will be issued in a couple of days.
In December 2008, the Interior Ministry had ordered the detention of six JuD leaders, including its chief Hafiz Saeed on the suspicion of his organisation’s involvement in the Mumbai attacks.
JuD offices linked to the Mumbai attacks were also closed, a day after the outfit was declared a terrorist group by the United Nations. A review board of the Lahore High Court on May 5 extended for further 60 days the detention of Hafiz Saeed and Col (retd) Nazir Ahmed while released its two leaders Mufti Abdur Rehman and Amir Hamza.
The board provided an opportunity to all the detainees to present their viewpoint after they were given reasons in black and white that led to their detention. Hafiz Saeed said his five-month-long detention was illegal and if there was any incriminating material against him, the government must produce it before the board. He viewed the nation neither ordered nor recommended his detention.
Amir Hamza said he was never involved in anti-state or provocative activities while Col (retd) Nazir opined that elements who broke the country were wandering freely while its saviours had been put behind the bars.
The board also ordered the Punjab government to provide Rs 25,000 subsistence allowance to the families of detunes while they would be kept at relevant places already declared as sub-jails.
Under Article 10(4) of the Constitution, the chief justice of the high court forms a board consisting of a chairman and two other persons, each of whom is or has been a high court judge. The federal and the Punjab governments had taken the plea that the JuD leaders were detained after the UN resolution.
The counsel for the petitioner, AK Dogar, had taken the plea that Hafiz Saeed had earlier been detained by the government of Pervez Musharraf but was released by the Lahore High Court, observing there was no allegation on the record against the petitioner or his organisation.
The counsel said the LHC had also observed the JuD had never been involved in any terrorist activities or any FIR registered against it or any of the persons under detention. He said the JuD was an independent organisation and it had no connection with the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The counsel said the home secretary passed another order of two-month detention against Hafiz Saeed, Nazir Ahmad, Amir Hamza, Qazi Kashif, Mufti Abdul Rehman and Qari Yasin Baloch on Jan 9, 2009. A representation was filed before the Punjab home department for their release, which remained pending for quite some time and no action was taken.
Later, a petition was filed before the LHC that was disposed of on the ground that the home secretary would decide the matter within one week.
Since the period of two months came to an end, a review board was constituted comprising three judges of the Lahore High Court but no counsel was allowed to represent the petitioners. Only two to five minutes were allowed to every petitioner to speak before the board, the counsel said.
However, two of the detenus, Qazi Kashif and Qari Yasin Baloch, were freed and the rest of the four were committed to house arrest for another 60 days.
He pleaded the Government of Pakistan itself was indulging in condemnation of religious parties and was trying to present an olive branch to India and it had been influenced by the propaganda of Hindu lobby and under the influence and pressure of India had ordered its permanent representative at UN Security Council Abdullah Hussain Haroon to persuade the Security Council to ban the JuD — a charitable organisation.
The counsel said the detention of the petitioners issued on Jan 9 and March 9, 2009 passed by the home department were without lawful authority and of no legal effect.
Therefore, the counsel prayed to the court to issue a direction in the nature of habeas corpus, requiring the respondents that the petitioners be brought before the court and it be declared that they were being held in custody without lawful authority and in an unlawful manner.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
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