The Pakistan Supreme Court has asked authorities to provide "solid grounds" for detaining Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the chief of the banned outfit Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD). The decision comes more than a week after two petitions were filed before it against the release of Saeed, a key accused in the Mumbai attacks, from house arrest.
A three-member apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry adjourned the hearing of the two petitions filed by the Federal and Punjab governments till Tuesday after hearing arguments by Punjab's Advocate General Muhammad Raza Farooq.
Farooq 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 Jammat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and the other was "confidential evidence" against Saeed and his close aide Col (Retd) Nazir Ahmed.
The bench 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."
Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar, who is representing the federal government in the case, will present his arguments on Tuesday.
Saeed and Ahmed were placed under house arrest in December last year.
On May 2, a judicial review board of the Lahore High Court extended their detention by 60 days. However, acting on a petition filed by Saeed, the High Court ordered their release on June 2.
In their petitions filed before the apex court on July 4, the federal and Punjab governments said the Lahore High Court had not considered the sensitivity of the case, especially in view of Pakistan's ongoing operations against internal and external terrorism.
The petitions also said the High Court had made a wrong assertion that the detaining authority had no evidence against Saeed.
