.Pakistan may appeal against Saeed’s release
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government is preparing to file a “leave to appeal” petition against the release of Lashkar-e-Toiba founder and Jamat-ud-dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in the Supreme Court soon.
Official sources said the papers for the petition were already finalised and may be filed by both the Punjab and federal governments before the Supreme Court as early as Saturday.
The move is expected to help to clear the diplomatic air ahead of the next round of India-Pakistan meetings in Egypt later this month, at which the Prime Ministers of the two countries are to hold talks, following a meeting between their Foreign Secretaries at the same venue.
Indian officials have said the two Foreign Secretaries will discuss the steps taken by Pakistan to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack for which LeT is widely held responsible.
India strongly protested the June 2 Lahore High Court order releasing Mr. Saeed, named by the Mumbai investigators as the “mastermind” of the attack, and against whom the Mumbai special court dealing with the case has since issued a non-bailable warrant.
Faced with both Indian and Western criticism over the release, Pakistan, while pleading helplessness in the face of an independent judiciary, promised an appeal against the High Court order.
But much will depend on whether the Supreme Court accepts the petition, which will basically seek permission to appeal.
The actual appeal against the June 2 Lahore High Court order releasing Mr. Saeed from a six-month house arrest can be made only if the Supreme Court grants “leave to appeal”.
Experts view
Legal experts have expressed doubts if the government petition against, Mr. Saeed’s release can hold water, especially if it is based on the same arguments forwarded by the government in the Lahore High Court for his detention under the preventive Maintenance of Public Order Act.
The Lahore High Court held last month that there was no evidence for the preventive detention of Mr. Saeed.
According to legal sources, the leave to appeal petition will likely argue that Mr. Saeed’s detention is necessary for the “safety and security” of the country, but will bring no additional evidence to support this or build a criminal case against the cleric other than what was made available to the Lahore High Court.
Attorney-General Latif Khosa had presented in camera evidence from intelligence reports to a three-judge bench of the High Court against Mr. Saeed, which the court dismissed as “insufficient” and said was produced four months after he was placed under house arrest to “cover up lacuna” in the detention. Mr. Khosa also argued before the High Court bench that the procedural lapses in the detention of Mr. Saeed could not constitute grounds for ordering his release as a review board appointed by the same court had extended the detention twice, thus legalising it.
The sources said the government’s petition for appeal would seek to build on this argument, stating that as the Lahore High Court-appointed review board had “sanctified” the house arrest with two extensions, the government’s failure to provide Mr. Saeed the grounds for his detention within the constitutionally laid-down 15 days was rendered irrelevant.
A.K. Dogar, the lawyer for Mr. Saeed, expressed confidence that the leave to appeal would not be successful as it had to be built on the government’s original case against his client, which had already been dismissed by the Lahore High Court.
“There is no running away for the government from Maintenance of Public Order. The same arguments against Hafiz Saeed’s detention under this act will apply,” he said.
The Hindu
Official sources said the papers for the petition were already finalised and may be filed by both the Punjab and federal governments before the Supreme Court as early as Saturday.
The move is expected to help to clear the diplomatic air ahead of the next round of India-Pakistan meetings in Egypt later this month, at which the Prime Ministers of the two countries are to hold talks, following a meeting between their Foreign Secretaries at the same venue.
Indian officials have said the two Foreign Secretaries will discuss the steps taken by Pakistan to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack for which LeT is widely held responsible.
India strongly protested the June 2 Lahore High Court order releasing Mr. Saeed, named by the Mumbai investigators as the “mastermind” of the attack, and against whom the Mumbai special court dealing with the case has since issued a non-bailable warrant.
Faced with both Indian and Western criticism over the release, Pakistan, while pleading helplessness in the face of an independent judiciary, promised an appeal against the High Court order.
But much will depend on whether the Supreme Court accepts the petition, which will basically seek permission to appeal.
The actual appeal against the June 2 Lahore High Court order releasing Mr. Saeed from a six-month house arrest can be made only if the Supreme Court grants “leave to appeal”.
Experts view
Legal experts have expressed doubts if the government petition against, Mr. Saeed’s release can hold water, especially if it is based on the same arguments forwarded by the government in the Lahore High Court for his detention under the preventive Maintenance of Public Order Act.
The Lahore High Court held last month that there was no evidence for the preventive detention of Mr. Saeed.
According to legal sources, the leave to appeal petition will likely argue that Mr. Saeed’s detention is necessary for the “safety and security” of the country, but will bring no additional evidence to support this or build a criminal case against the cleric other than what was made available to the Lahore High Court.
Attorney-General Latif Khosa had presented in camera evidence from intelligence reports to a three-judge bench of the High Court against Mr. Saeed, which the court dismissed as “insufficient” and said was produced four months after he was placed under house arrest to “cover up lacuna” in the detention. Mr. Khosa also argued before the High Court bench that the procedural lapses in the detention of Mr. Saeed could not constitute grounds for ordering his release as a review board appointed by the same court had extended the detention twice, thus legalising it.
The sources said the government’s petition for appeal would seek to build on this argument, stating that as the Lahore High Court-appointed review board had “sanctified” the house arrest with two extensions, the government’s failure to provide Mr. Saeed the grounds for his detention within the constitutionally laid-down 15 days was rendered irrelevant.
A.K. Dogar, the lawyer for Mr. Saeed, expressed confidence that the leave to appeal would not be successful as it had to be built on the government’s original case against his client, which had already been dismissed by the Lahore High Court.
“There is no running away for the government from Maintenance of Public Order. The same arguments against Hafiz Saeed’s detention under this act will apply,” he said.
The Hindu
posted by madtom at 6:14 PM
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