Lahore, June 03: Succumbing to global pressure over
the release of banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad
Saeed, allegedly linked to the 26/11 attacks, Pakistani
authorities on Wednesday said they would appeal against a court`s
order to free him from detention.
"Yes we will move the court either on Thursday or Friday
against the Lahore High Court`s decision to free Hafiz Saeed
and his aide Col (retired) Nazir Ahmed," Rana Sanuallah, Law
Minister of Punjab province, said.
"Though it was a court decision, it really landed us in
hot water as it provided India a chance to unleash propaganda
against Pakistan," he said.
Saeed and various other top JuD leaders were detained in
December last year after the UN Security Council designated
his group as a front for the banned LeT, blamed for the Mumbai
terror strikes.
A senior official said the government was placed in a
Catch 22 situation over the High Court`s order to free Saeed.
"The court had made it clear that the government should either
present declassified evidence against Saeed or it was going to
free him owing to lack of evidence against him," the official
said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The government was not in a position to share the secret
information with the court," he added. During the hearing of Saeed`s petition challenging his detention, Pakistan`s Attorney General Latif Khosa told the High Court that the government had evidence which showed the JuD`s "prima facie links" with Al Qaida. This was the first
time that Pakistan acknowledged that JuD has links with Al
Qaida.
The High Court`s verdict issued yesterday said the
government "has no sufficient grounds to detain the
petitioners for preventive measures".
The court also said the government could not rely on the
UN Security Council resolution imposing restrictions on the
JuD to detain Saeed and Ahmed as this was "not desired" by the
resolution.
The bench quashed the "impugned detention orders" for
Saeed and Ahmed and ordered that they should be "released
forthwith if not required in any other case".
India has protested against the release of Saeed, saying
it raised questions about Pakistan`s desire to tackle
terrorism emanating from its soil.
Bureau Report
