LAHORE: After hearing arguments on behalf of Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed against his detention, the Lahore High Court on Monday directed the law officer to come prepared with his arguments on next date of hearing.
The division bench headed by Justice Kazim Raza Shamsi adjourned the hearing till April 04. Counsel for Hafiz Saeed and four of his detained aides, AK Dogar, submitted that detention order of his clients was based on mala fide intention of the government. He said only the federal government could include names of anybody in 4th schedule and not the provincial government. He said the Punjab government has issued a notification for inclusion of names of his clients in the 4th schedule, which is illegal and unconstitutional. He said authorities have detained Hafiz Saeed and others to please India and the US, which is tantamount to compromising our sovereignty.
Advocate AK Dogar submitted before the court that his clients are serving the humanity. In reply to the petition, a law officer, on behalf of Punjab home department, submitted that being informed by the federal government that Jamatud Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation are engaged in certain activities which could be prejudicial to peace and security and in violation of Pakistan’s obligations to the UN Security Council resolution passed against these organisations. He said being active members of these organisations, the petitioners’ activities could be prejudicial to peace and their activities need to be closely monitored in the national interest. The names of the petitioners were placed on the 4th schedule and ATA and they were detained for a period of 90 days on January 30.
He said they can file representations against their detention orders before the home secretary according to the law. He requested the court to dismiss the petition. Advocate Dogar submitted that his clients were detained under pressure from US and India. He said if the government finds anything wrong on the part of his clients, it should deal with them in accordance with the law of the land and not under the obligations of the UN resolution. He said in 2009 Hafiz Saeed was also put under house arrest despite banning his organisation. But a full bench of LHC had declared that detention illegal as the govt failed in presenting any proof of his involvement in terrorism against him. The Punjab government on January 28 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 4th 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 are 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 organisations in the second schedule of ATA under its section 11-D (1).
