LHC shifts cases against Hafiz Saeed, others to Lahore

LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief (LHC) Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh on Friday allowed shifting of two cases against Jamaatud Dawa (JD) Chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and his four associates from Sahiwal to Lahore. The CJ allowed an application by the JD leaders after Additional Prosecutor General Abdul Samad Khan said the prosecution has no objection if the court transfers the cases. Advocate Imran Fazal Gill submitted that two cases are pending against the petitioners before anti-terrorism courts of Sahiwal while some other identical cases are also being heard by a Lahore trial court. He asked the court to order consolidation of all cases against the petitioners in Lahore as they involve similar charges and questions of law. The Counterterrorism Department (CTD) had registered 23 cases under Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 in police stations of Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan, Sahiwal, Faisalabad and Sargodha against Makki, JD Chief Hafiz Saeed and other leaders. The CTD accused them of using properties of seminaries and mosques for terror financing. However, the defence rejected the allegations against the JD leaders as baseless and a result of international pressure on the government.