Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's outfits JuD, FIF no longer 'banned' in Pakistan

During the hearing, Saeed's counsel informed the Islamabad High Court that the ordinance proscribing the organisations has lapsed and was never extended by the new PTI government.

Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed/ (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: The Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeeds’s organisations Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniyat that were until now in the list of banned outfits in Pakistan, have now been removed from the list as the presidential ordinance that had barred them under a UN resolution has lapsed. The new PTI government led by Imran Khan did not extend the ordinance or table it in parliament to convert it into an act, said media reports. A petition was filed by the terrorist Hafiz Saeed challenging the presidential ordinance under which his organisations had been banned for being on the watch list of the United Nations Security Council. During the hearing, his counsel informed the Islamabad High Court that the ordinance has lapsed and it had never been extended. On a query, the counsel informed the court that the PTI government did not extend the ordinance or table it in parliament to convert it into an act, The Dawn reported. It was in February this year that former president Mamnoon Hussain promulgated an ordinance amending the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 to declare JuD and FIF as proscribed groups. Saeed contended in the petition that he established JuD in 2002 and cut off all ties with the banned Lashkar-i-Taiba, but India continued to malign JuD for its past association with the banned outfit. He argued that he was kept in detention in 2009 and 2017 due to India’s pressure. He added that the UN Security Council had passed a resolution against JuD after which the government of Pakistan put it on the watch list, the daily reported. He claimed that the promulgation of the ordinance was not only prejudicial to the sovereignty but also contradictory to the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution. He said that any law which was violative of constitutional provisions was liable to be struck down. According to a list updated on September 5 on the National Counter Terrorism Authority's website, 66 organisations have been banned in Pakistan and the JuD and FIF are not among them. India has been pushing Pakistan to bring to justice the planners of the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Saeed is the co-founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was responsible for the deadly attack in which 166 people were killed.