Release of Hafiz Saeed: Supreme Court returns petitions filed by Federation, Punjab government

The Supreme Court on Monday after raising some objections returned petitions filed by the Federation and government of Punjab against release of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, chief Jamaatud Dawa and Colonel Nazir Ahmed (Retd). Federation along with government of Punjab on Monday had challenged the decision of Lahore High Court releasing top leaders of Jamaatud Dawa detained in connection with Mumbai attacks, last year.
Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar has been assigned the task of filing the petition by the Federation. He told this scribe that the Registrar office pointed out that supporting documents of the petitions were not readable. After removing the objections, we will file the petition on Tuesday (today), he added.
Whereas, Advocate General Punjab, Raza Farooq would file the petition on behalf of the province. Earlier, on June 2 while bringing an end to the detention of Hafiz Saeed and Colonel Nazir Ahmad (Retd) the LHC held that: '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 for the preventive measures.
'So far as the resolution of the UN is concerned, there is no matter before us about the vires and the government can act upon the same in letter and in spirit if so advised. But relying on the same the detention cannot be maintained as it was even not desired thereby', the decision added.
Hafiz Saeed and Colonel Ahmad (Retd) 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 petitions Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and Colonel Nazir Ahmed (Retd) have been nominated as respondents. Posing some legal questions pertaining to release of Hafiz Saeed and Colonel Nazir (Retd) the petition says that the court had not considered the sensitivity of the case, especially in the wake of prevailing situation of combat against internal and external terrorism, faced by the country.
The petition says that in the LHC judgement emphasis has been drawn 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, which could be made basis of detention order. If there would have been any evidence against the detenues, then the 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 judges of the LHC proceeded the purview of their 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.