Pak court reserves verdict in detention case of Hafiz Saeed

Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed and his four aides will have to spend some more time in jail as a Pakistani court today reserved its verdict in their detention case.

A division bench headed by Justice Abdul Sami Khan reserved the decision after the Punjab government law officer submitted a reply and Saeed's counsel advocate A K Dogar completed his arguments.

According to the Punjab government's reply, Saeed and his aides - Abdullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Hussain - were detained on the instruction of the federal government for their alleged involvement in activities prejudicial to peace and security of the country. 

The law officer also submitted the report of the judicial review board on the detention of Saeed



and his close aides.

A K Dogar argued that the government did not produce the petitioners before the judicial review board prior to expiry of their detention period on April 30 and extended their detention on its own.

He said extending detention period without the mandatory approval of the review board is "illegal".

Dogar further said the government detained the petitioners to "please India and America only".

He said the courts of the country in past had declared detention of the JuD chief illegal as government failed to prove its charges against him. He prayed to the court to set aside the detention of the petitioners for being unconstitutional.

Earlier, the three-member review board headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan of the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on the detention of Saeed.