LAHORE: Pakistan court has deferred the verdict of Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed and four of his aides - Abdullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid, and Qazi Kashif Hussain for their involvement in activities prejudicial to the country's security. Court officials said the Lahore High Court head of the division bench Justice Abdul Sami Khan was not present “as per the weekly roster”. Date for announcement of the verdict will be notified later.
The bench had said earlier last month, that it would give its verdict on June 19 but deferred it for July 3 following a request from a law officer of the Punjab government. The federal government had also submitted a report of the judicial review board on the detention of Saeed and his aides. Mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Saeed had appeared before the board last month and said he was detained by the Pak government to “stop him from raising voice for Kashmiris”. His arguments were but, rejected by the Interior Ministry who told the board that “Saeed and his four aides have been detained for spreading terrorism in the name of Jihad.”
The Punjab government on April 30 extended the detention of Saeed and his four aides for 90 days under the 11 EEE (I) and 11D of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. They had been put under house arrest in Lahore under the Second Schedule of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 on January 30.
