Lahore: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday directed Pakistani government authorities not to “harass” globally-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed and allow him to undertake his “welfare activities”.
Justice Ameenud Din Khan, who heard the petition filed by A.K. Dogar on Saeed’s behalf, also directed the authorities to submit their responses on the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief’s petition by April 23, the next date of hearing, The Dawn reported.
In the petition filed earlier last month, Saeed had claimed that the Pakistan government was not allowing him to conduct his welfare projects, because the latter had “bowed down to pressure” from India and the United States.
He asserted that authorities who were preventing an individual or an organisation from carrying out welfare activities were against the country’s rule of law.
Dogar, who represented the 26/11 mastermind terrorist, said the high court should form a full bench, as the case was of a “sensitive nature”, to which Justice Khan responded the same and a full bench would be formed in the next hearing.
In January 1, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan named Saeed’s JuD and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) among other organisations named in a list of banned outfits by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) from collecting donations in the country.
However, despite the ban, the entities had been found to be freely operating in Pakistan.
Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain in February amended the country’s anti-terrorism act, following which the terrorist organisations that were banned by the UN were outlawed in the country too.
In the same month, Pakistani authorities confirmed that the country was going back on the “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) in June, a global watchdog on combating terror financing and money laundering, after a span of nearly four years.
India has, time and again, protested against Pakistan for harbouring Saeed, who is wanted for allegedly plotting the 2008 Mumbai attack, which claimed 166 lives. (ANI)