Pak seeks extension of Saeed’s detention

Lahore, October 17 

The Pakistan government today sought the extension of Mumbai attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed’s detention under the public safety law, two days after withdrawing its application to prolong his house arrest under the anti-terrorism law.

The Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD) head, who has been under house arrest since January, was presented before a three-member Punjab provincial judicial review board amid high security.

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The Judicial Review Board comprising Justice Yawar Ali, Justice Abdul Sami and Justice Alia Neelam heard arguments of a law officer of the Punjab Home Department for the extension of detention of Saeed and his four close aides — Abdullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Hussain.

Their detention period is scheduled to expire on October 24. Under the law, the government can detain a person for up to three months under various charges. It can extend the detention only after the approval from the judicial review board.

The Lahore police had tightened  security around the Lahore HC building where Saeed and others were presented before the board. The board, after hearing the law officer, issued notices to Advocate General Punjab and foreign and interior secretaries to appear before it on October 19 to tell as to why the government wants extension to Saeed’s house arrest. On last Saturday, the Punjab Home Department had withdrawn its request from federal board to seek the extension to Saeed’s detention under “anti-terrorism act”. — PTI 

Declare Pak pro-terror state: US Congman

• As India continues quest to create international opinion on Pakistan relying on terror as an instrument of state-policy, senior Republican lawmaker Dana Rohrabacher on Tuesday said it was time to hold Islamabad accountable and declare it a “pro-terror state”.
• Rohrabacher, who is in India as part of a Congressional delegation, said because of their past association with Pakistan, people of the US were “turning a blind-eye to the monstrous violations of trust by the government of Pakistan”. TNS