Pak court disposes of petition of Saeed, 67 JuD leaders

A Pakistani court has disposed of the petition of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and 67 other leaders of the outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and its so-called charity wing Falah-i-Insaniat (FIF) seeking cancellation of 23 FIRs registered against them on charges of using different properties for terror financing.

On Wednesday, a two-judge bench of the Lahore High Court headed by Justice Mohammad Qasim Khan while disposing of the petition observed that the petitioner's counsel might file separate petitions against each FIR.

Saeed's counsel A K Dogar argued that the properties in question had never been used for terror financing as there was no tangible evidence on record to support such "bald allegations".

 

He said that describing Saeed and other JuD leaders as being leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba is "factually and legally incorrect".

Dogar further said a full bench of the High Court in a case against detention of JuD leaders had already declared in its 2009 judgment that Saeed and others were not members of LeT.

"The petitioners had never been involved in any activity against the country nor they have links to any terrorist organization, he said.

"The properties mentioned in the FIRs were dedicated to mosques and being used for the last so many years, he argued.

A law officer argued about the involvement of Saeed and others in terror financing in the light of the Counter Terrorism Department's evidence.

After hearing both sides, the court disposed of Saeed's petition and noted that he may file a separate petition against each FIR.

On Wednesday, Saeed and his three close aides were indicted in terror financing case in the anti-terrorism court, Lahore.

The CTD had registered 23 FIRs against the petitioners on the charges of "terror financing" in different cities of Punjab province and arrested Saeed on July 17. He is detained at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.

Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The US declared the LeT as a foreign terrorist organisation in June 2014.