PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Lahore, Nov 22: JuD chief Hafiz Saeed will soon walk free after a Pakistani judicial body ordered his release from house arrest Wednesday. This is a setback to India’s efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
The banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah head, who carries a bounty of USD 10 million announced by the US, has been under detention since January.
Rejecting the government’s plea to extend his detention for another three months, the Judicial Review Board of Punjab comprising judges of the Lahore High Court ordered Saeed’s release on the expiry of his 30-day house arrest which is going to end in a couple of days.
“The government is ordered to release JuD chief Hafiz Saeed if he is not wanted in any other case,” said the board which was headed by Justice Abdul Sami Khan.
Saeed may walk out free in a couple of days if the government does not detain him in any other case.
India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to re-investigate the Mumbai terror attack case and also demanded trial of Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi on the basis of the evidence it had given to Islamabad.
Before the board’s decision, a federal finance ministry official submitted “some important evidence” against Saeed to justify his detention. The board, however, rejected his arguments. Last month, the board had extended by 30 days the extension of Saeed.
Earlier, the home department of the Punjab government told the board that Pakistan might face sanctions from the international community if Saeed is released. The department produced Saeed before the board and sought a three-month extension of his detention.
Strict security arrangements were put in place on LHC’s premises during Saeed’s appearance before the board. A large number of JuD workers also gathered on the court’s premises. After the decision, Saeed’s supporters chanted slogans supporting their leader.
Meanwhile, a source in the Punjab government said that Saeed may not walk out free as the government is thinking of detaining him in another case. “The government cannot afford to set Saeed free in the current circumstance. It cannot face international backlash by releasing the JuD chief,” the source said.
On January 31, Saeed and his four aides – Abdullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Hussain – were detained by the Punjab government for 90 days under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 and the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. However the last two extensions were made as per the ‘public safety law’. The board refused to give further extension to the detention of Saeed’s four aides. They were set free in the last week of October.
Under the law, the government can detain a person for up to three months under different charges but for extending that it needs approval from a judicial review board.
The LHC Wednesday held hearing on Saeed’s petition challenging his detention and adjourned the proceedings to December 6.
The JuD is believed to be a front of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which was responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack.
Saeed was put under house arrest after the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 but was freed by court in 2009.
