Pakistan's Lahore High Court chief justice on Wednesday changed a two-member bench which was hearing the petition of Mumbai attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed challenging his arrest in the terror financing case.
Saeed, a UN designated terrorist whom the US has placed a USD 10 million bounty on, was arrested on July 17 in a terror financing case. He is lodged at the Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail in high security.
"The LHC chief justice on Wednesday transferred Saeed's case from two-member bench comprising Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi and Justice Mushtaq Ahmed to other two-member bench headed by Justice Mohammad Qasim Khan," a court official told PTI.
He said Justice Khan's bench is also hearing other terrorism related case.
In the last hearing on August 27 Justice Naqvi's bench had sought reply from the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police on the petition filed by Saeed and 67 other leaders of Jammat-ud-Dawah and Falah-i-Insaniat in two weeks.
It had also summoned a CTD official concerned to explain about the arrest of Saeed and others in the terror financing case.
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Hearing in this case was scheduled to be held on September 25 but the bench was changed.
The petitioners' counsel A K Dogar said in the last hearing that Saeed has no link with the Al-Qaeda or any other terrorist organisation.
"Saeed also has no connection with banned Lashkar-e-Taiba," he said.
Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which was responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. He was listed under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.
Dogar further claimed that the Indian lobby has been propagating against his client as he was not involved in Mumbai attacks.
Saeed and others prayed to the LHC to declare that the property detailed in the petition was "dedicated for the purpose of mosques and is being used as such, therefore, the FIRs are without lawful authority and of no legal effect."
The Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab Police had registered 23 FIRs against the petitioners on the charges of "terror financing" in different cities of Punjab province.
The cases have been registered in Lahore, Gujranwala and Multan for collection of funds for terrorism financing through assets and properties made and held in the names of Trusts or Non Profit Organisations (NPO), including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust and Muaz Bin Jabal Trust etc.
The CTD said investigation launched into financing matters of proscribed organisations - JuD and LeT - in connection with implementation of the UN Sanctions against these Designated Entities & Persons as directed by NSC (National Security Committee) in its Meeting of January 1, 2019 chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan for implementing the National Action Plan.
"These suspects made assets from funds of terrorism financing. They held and used these assets to raise more funds for further terrorism financing. Hence, they committed multiple offences of terrorism financing and money laundering under Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. They will be prosecuted in ATCs (Anti Terrorism Courts) for commission of these offences," the CTD said.
The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.
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