More arguments sought in Hafiz Saeed case

LAHORE

Rejecting request of Punjab Home Department for more time on a petition of Hafiz Saeed and his aides against their detention, the Lahore High Court asked its counsel to extend arguments on Tuesday (today).

Appearing before the court, a law officer on behalf of the home department submitted that he was informed about the case few minutes before the hearing; therefore, he could not prepare his arguments.  He sought adjournment from the court.

A division bench headed by Justice Kazim Raza Shamsi on February 22 had issued notice to Punjab home department.

The bench sought material, if any, against the petitioners to justify their detention.

Hafiz Saeed and other JuD leader had filed this petition through Advocate AK Dogar. Various pamphlets of JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation are made part of the petition which stated performance of JuD and FIF in performing volunteer work in different areas of the country.

It has also stated its performance in rescue work in Mall Road suicide blast in the petition. It has stated that 569 of its volunteers and 54 ambulances participated in rescue work.

It stated that it shifted 13 injured and six bodies. They arranged 70 blood bags for the injured and provided food to 1,076 people for three days after the blast. They also distributed 755 water bottles and arranged funeral prayers for three deceased, the writ petition stated. He said they also did rescue work during blast at shrine of Lal Shehbaz Qalander.

The Punjab government on 28th of January had placed names of Hafiz Saeed, Abdullah Ubaid (Faisalabad), Malik Zafar Iqbal Shahbaz (Markaz Tayyaba Muridke), Abdul Rehman Abid (Markaz Tayyaba Muridke) and Qazi Kashif Hussain of Multan in fourth schedule and in February had put them under detention for 90 days.

This all was done on recommendations of interior ministry. According to notification putting them under detention, the interior ministry on January 27 had intimated that Jamatud Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation were engaged in certain activities which could be prejudicial to peace and security and in violation of Pakistan’s obligations to the United Nations Security Council Resolution No 1267 and has accordingly placed both organisation in the second schedule of ATA under its section 11-D (1).