Islamabad, July 14: The provincial Punjab government on Tuesday informed Pakistan’s Supreme Court that it wanted to withdraw its petition challenging a lower court’s order that released JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed from detention, saying it did not have adequate evidence against him.
When two petitions challenging Saeed’s release from house arrest were taken up by a three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Punjab Advocate General Muhammad Raza Farooq informed the court that the provincial government wanted to withdraw its appeal.
Farooq told the court that the Punjab government did not have adequate evidence against Saeed. He also said federal authorities had not shared any proof against the JuD leader.
The Chief Justice then sought the views of Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar, who was in court to represent the federal government. Khawar asked for time to hold consultations with Farooq so that a final decision could be conveyed to the court.
Attorney General Latif Khosa too reached the courtroom and went outside with Khawar and Farooq for consultations. They were joined by senior legal officials.
The court first briefly adjourned the matter and then later deffered hearing in the case till July 16.
The development would surely be high on the agenda during the talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir today in Egypt ahead of the NAM summit.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also be meeting Pak PM Yusuf Raza Gilani on Thursday and is now expected to take up the matter of Islamabad’s apparent soft stance towards terror suspects.
The Punjab government’s backing off came just a day after Pakistani Supreme Court asked for “solid grounds” for detaining Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, a key accused in the Mumbai attacks case.
Interestingly, Advocate General Farooq, during the hearing yesterday had told the court that the Punjab government had filed the petition challenging the Lahore High Court’s order freeing Saeed on two grounds — one was compliance with the UN Security Council resolution imposing restrictions on the JuD and the other was “confidential evidence” against Saeed and his close aide Col (Retd) Nazir Ahmed.
But the Bench had observed that the UN resolution only imposed restrictions on Saeed’s movements. The Chief Justice remarked that the government could not curtail the liberties of an individual without evidence.
The Bench also asked Farooq to justify the fresh plea for Saeed’s detention with “solid grounds”.
Farooq told the court that Saeed was initially detained under the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance. He said there is “sufficient evidence” available against Saeed but this was not made part of the case record due to confidentiality.
Intelligence reports about Saeed had been shared with the Lahore High Court, he added.
Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, another member of the Bench, then said: “May be you are handicapped but we are not.”
But now it appears that the prosecution could not present the “sufficient evidence” that they claimed they had with them against Saeed.
Defending the Punjab government, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, while talking to a news channel, said, “The plea filed against Saeed was on a weak footing, so we thought it better to withdraw it.”
Giving more justification, Sanaullah added, “We realised that if SC decides against us, then in future if we have to take action against Saeed or a person like him, that will act as an obstacle.”
Saeed and Ahmed were placed under house arrest in December last year after India claimed them to be the masterminds behind the deadly Mumbai attacks that left over 170 people dead.
Zeenews Bureau
Islamabad: The provincial Punjab government on Tuesday informed Pakistan’s Supreme Court that it wanted to withdraw its petition challenging a lower court’s order that released JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed from detention, saying it did not have adequate evidence against him.
When two petitions challenging Saeed’s release from house arrest were taken up by a three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Punjab Advocate General Muhammad Raza Farooq informed the court that the provincial government wanted to withdraw its appeal.
Farooq told the court that the Punjab government did not have adequate evidence against Saeed. He also said federal authorities had not shared any proof against the JuD leader.
The Chief Justice then sought the views of Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar, who was in court to represent the federal government. Khawar asked for time to hold consultations with Farooq so that a final decision could be conveyed to the court.
Attorney General Latif Khosa too reached the courtroom and went outside with Khawar and Farooq for consultations. They were joined by senior legal officials.
The court first briefly adjourned the matter and then later deffered hearing in the case till July 16.
The development would surely be high on the agenda during the talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir today in Egypt ahead of the NAM summit.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also be meeting Pak PM Yusuf Raza Gilani on Thursday and is now expected to take up the matter of Islamabad’s apparent soft stance towards terror suspects.
The Punjab government’s backing off came just a day after Pakistani Supreme Court asked for “solid grounds” for detaining Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, a key accused in the Mumbai attacks case.
Interestingly, Advocate General Farooq, during the hearing yesterday had told the court that the Punjab government had filed the petition challenging the Lahore High Court’s order freeing Saeed on two grounds — one was compliance with the UN Security Council resolution imposing restrictions on the JuD and the other was “confidential evidence” against Saeed and his close aide Col (Retd) Nazir Ahmed.
But the Bench had observed that the UN resolution only imposed restrictions on Saeed’s movements. The Chief Justice remarked that the government could not curtail the liberties of an individual without evidence.
The Bench also asked Farooq to justify the fresh plea for Saeed’s detention with “solid grounds”.
Farooq told the court that Saeed was initially detained under the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance. He said there is “sufficient evidence” available against Saeed but this was not made part of the case record due to confidentiality.
Intelligence reports about Saeed had been shared with the Lahore High Court, he added.
Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, another member of the Bench, then said: “May be you are handicapped but we are not.”
But now it appears that the prosecution could not present the “sufficient evidence” that they claimed they had with them against Saeed.
Defending the Punjab government, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, while talking to a news channel, said, “The plea filed against Saeed was on a weak footing, so we thought it better to withdraw it.”
Giving more justification, Sanaullah added, “We realised that if SC decides against us, then in future if we have to take action against Saeed or a person like him, that will act as an obstacle.”
Saeed and Ahmed were placed under house arrest in December last year after India claimed them to be the masterminds behind the deadly Mumbai attacks that left over 170 people dead.
—-Agencies