Lahore:
Jamaat Ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed - blamed by India for masterminding the Mumbai attacks - filed a petition in a Pakistani court on Thursday, challenging two 'fake' anti-terrorism cases against him and the UN's 'illegal' ban on the JuD.
The writ petition, filed in the Lahore High Court by Saeed's lawyer A K Dogar, said the two First Information Reports (FIR) registered against the JuD chief in Faisalabad last week were "without lawful authority and of no legal effect".
The JuD is "not a banned organisation as the UN's direction in this regard does not apply" in Pakistan, which "is a sovereign state," Saeed claimed in the petition. The UN's ban on the JuD is "illegal and unlawful," the petition contended.
Police in Faisalabad have accused Saeed of making speeches in which he incited people to wage 'jehad' against infidels and sought funds for the outlawed JuD. Saeed's petition dismissed these allegations. He claimed he had not incited people to wage 'jehad' and had only asked them to follow the Quran.
"To exhort the Muslims of Pakistan to act on the injunctions of the Holy Quran can never be said to be a criminal act," the petition said. The petition claimed that India has been "pressing" Pakistan to take action against Saeed even though there is "no charge" against him.
Asked why Saeed had not challenged his house arrest since Sunday, Dogar said: "There has been no house arrest or detention of Saeed. He is a free man. He can go where he wants to go. The restriction on him was only for Eid (on Monday) and that too because of security issues". "Some 100 policemen have been deployed at his residence at Johar Town, keeping in view terror threats," Dogar added.
Dogar's comments were contrary to Lahore police chief Pervez Rathore's statement that Saeed had been put under house arrest and action would be initiated against him in connection with two FIRs after receipt of instruction from higher-ups.
Saeed was put under house arrest in December last year also after the UN Security Council declared the JuD a terrorist organisation. He was freed on the orders of the Lahore High Court in June