Hafiz Saeed challenges house arrest in Lahore High Court

Lahore [Pakistan], Feb. 22 (ANI): Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and his four aides have challenged their house arrest, as well as addition of their names in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), in the Lahore High Court. Saeed, the alleged Mumbai attack mastermind, also challenged on Tuesday the Interior Ministry's decision of putting his name on the Exit Control List, with 37 of his other aides. According to the Express Tribune, the petition, filed by Saeed and other JuD leaders, through Advocate AK Dogar, will be taken up by a division bench of the LHC, headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim. Last week,the provincial government of Punjab in Pakistan has included names of Saeed and his four aides in the 'Fourth Schedule' of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). The person put under Fourth Schedule requires his movements to be restricted to any place or area specified in the order, and cannot reach places he is prevented from without prior permission to concerned police schools, colleges and other institutions where persons under 21 years of age or women are given education or other training or are housed permanently or temporarily. Such persons also have restrictions to visit theatres, cinemas, fairs, amusement parks, hotels, clubs, restaurants, tea shops and other place of public entertainment or resort, airports, railway stations, bus stands, telephone exchanges, television stations, radio stations and other such places, public or private parks and gardens and public or private playing fields, and the scene of any public meeting or procession of any assemblage of the public, whether in an enclosed place or otherwise in connection with any public event festival or other celebrations. The Punjab government had placed Saeed and four other party leaders under house arrest on January 31. A letter issued by the Interior Ministry to the provincial government on January 29 said JuD as well Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), which is a charity and public welfare arm of JuD, has been put on the watch list and listed in the second schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act. It said the two organisations had been put under watch list as per the UN Security Council sanctions. A number of JuD and FIF pamphlets are also made part of the petition, which highlighted the organisation's volunteer work in different parts of the country.(ANI)