LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday restrained the Punjab government from arresting or detaining Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed till the next order. The LHC also directed the government not to take action against JuD or Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), founded by Hafiz Saeed.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Justice Ameenud Din Khan issued a notice to the federal government to submit its reply on the matter on March 7. On Tuesday, Saeed had moved the court and challenged his possible arrest or government action against JuD and FIF, ahead of the visit of the United Nations (UN) monitoring team which would arrive in Pakistan on January 28.
In a petition filed through Advocate AK Dogar, Saeed stated that the government wanted to take action against him and his organisation under the pressure of the United States (US) and India. He requested the court to restrain the government from taking action against JuD or FIF.
In the writ petition, Dogar stated that Saeed and his allies were detained in Pakistan on the insistence of US and India, but the government could not provide any proof against them in the court of law. The government was now making plans to take action against JuD, FIF and to impress the UN monitoring team that would land in the country early next week.
It is pertinent to mention here that US recently demanded from Pakistan to arrest Hafiz Saeed. The government also plans to freeze and take over the assets of JuD and FIF during any future action against the banned organisation.
