The Federation, along with the government of Punjab on Monday will challenge the decision of Lahore High Court (LHC) pertaining to release of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawah, detained in connection with Mumbai attacks last year.
Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar, who has been assigned the task of filing the petition, approached the Supreme Court on Saturday but he could not carry out the assignment as he reached there after working hours. The petition on behalf of the province would be filed by Advocate-General, Punjab, Raza Farooq.
On June 2, ending the detention of Saeed, the LHC decided: "We have held that this writ petition in the form of habeas corpus is maintainable at the prima facie as the government has no sufficient grounds to detain the petitioners taking preventive measures."
"So far as the resolution of the UN is concerned, no matter is placed before the Court about the vires; hence the government can act upon the same in letter and spirit if so advised. But relying on the same the detention cannot be maintained even it was desired", the LHC decision added. The LHC had also ordered release of another leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Colonel (Retd) Nazir Ahmad.
Saeed and Nazir had been under house arrest since December 11 last year. On May 30, the Attorney General had presented evidence in the chamber, linking Jamaatud Dawa to al Qaeda. On May 2, a three-member review board of the LHC had extended the petitioners' detention by 60 days, while ordering the release of two other detainees.
According to the petition, to be filed, made available to the Business Recorder, the Federation has nominated Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and retired Colonel Nazir Ahmed as respondents. The Federation in its petition is going to request the Supreme Court to set aside LHC decision, restoring the detention order of Mohammad Saeed and Nazir Ahmed.
Posing some legal questions pertaining to release of Saeed and Nazir, the petition says that the LHC had not considered the sensitivity of the case, especially in the wake of prevailing law and order situation when full scale military operation is underway to combat internal and external terrorism threat.
The petition says that in the LHC judgement emphasis has been laid on the wrong assertion that the detaining authority has no evidence against the respondents for justifying their detention. The fact remains that the petitioner as well as the government of Punjab, placed before the High Court all relevant material and documents in respect of the said preventive detention.
It is pertinent to mention that there is no need of sufficient evidence but classified information could be made basis of detention. If there would have been any evidence against the detainees then criminal cases according to the relevant laws would have been registered. In the present case the detentions were based upon the material and classified information furnished by the functionaries of state.
The Federation in its petition has also questioned the judges of the LHC for ignoring its jurisdiction in miscomprehending the scope and requirement of preventive detention while deciding on the parameters of punitive laws requiring solid evidence for prosecution of substantive criminal charges.
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