Pak SC Dismisses Pleas Challenging Saeed’s Release

Citing technical grounds, the Pakistan Supreme Court has dismissed two petitions filed by the federal and Punjab governments challenging release of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of last year’s Mumbai terror strike.

Following the dismissal of petitions, authorities said that they would file fresh pleas after removing the flaws.

Despite the office of the Supreme Court registrar not having completed formalities for petitions to be taken up a bench, the pleas were filed on Saturday.

According to sources, the Supreme Court rejected the please this afternoon citing technical flaws.

Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar told reporters the registrar had returned the petitions as they challenged only the release of Saeed and his close aide Col (retd) Nazir Ahmed on the orders of the Lahore High Court.

Khawar said that the office of the registrar instructed that two other JuD leaders – Amir Hamza and Mufti Abdur Rehman – who were originally party to the matter should also be included in the petitions.

Hamza and Rehman, detained along with Saeed in December last year in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, were freed by a judicial review board in May.

Khawar said the petitions would be submitted again today after removing the technical flaws.