LAHORE: The Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) on Wednesday requested the Interior Ministry for the removal of its head Hafiz Saeed, currently under house arrest, and 37 other party activists’ names from the Exit Control List (ECL), as the party and its members were not involved in any terrorist activities in the country.
The application moved by party counsel AK Dogar alludes to the Interior Ministry notification issued on January 30, consequently, the JuD chief and four of his aides were placed under one month house arrest.
In his letter, the Dogar said that on instructions from his client (JuD), he is pleading that the ministry withdraws its decision regarding the ECL. Dogar claims that JuD had never been a part of terrorist activities in Pakistan, and no terror-related incident was ever linked to the organisation.
The JuD is dedicated to the welfare of citizens as it has set up 142 schools and four universities in the country and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) is sufficient proof to this effect,” it said.
It claimed that the government was failed to produce any kind of evidence against his client and to prove his[counsel] point he will submit documents in the count which will prove Saeed’s and his aides’ innocence.
The January 30 notification placed the JuD and the FIF on the watch list and put on the second schedule under Section 11-EEE(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. A subsequent handout issued by the Punjab government said, “In the light of Section 11-EEE(1) of the Anti Terrorism Act, the Punjab government has taken organisational office-bearers of the aforementioned organisations playing an active role including Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (Lahore), Abdullah Ubaid (Faisalabad), Zafar Iqbal (Markaz Tayyaba Muridke), Abdul Rehman Abid (Markaz Tayyaba Muridke) and Kashif Niazi of Multan into protective custody.”
The FIF and JuD have been taking steps which could harm the peace and security of the country and are involved in activities that violate United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1267, the Interior Ministry stated in its order.
Saeed’s detention came following Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s remarks that the government was taking steps to fulfil its international obligations regarding JuD.
India accuses the JuD chief of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Saeed has repeatedly denied ordering the Mumbai attacks and has distanced himself from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a banned militant group in Pakistan that India blames for the incident. Saeed was put under house arrest soon after the Mumbai attacks but was released on court orders in June 2009.