LAHORE, Jan 10: The Punjab government admitted having detained the Jaish and former Lashkar chiefs only after the federal government informed the Lahore High Court on Thursday that they were in its (the former’s), preventive custody.

Assistant Advocate-General Amin Lone told Justice Karamat Nazir Bhandari early Thursday morning that the Punjab home department knew nothing about the detenus’ whereabouts as they had not been arrested or detained by the provincial government.

Soon afterward, Deputy Attorney-General Khwaja Saeeduz Zafar submitted para-wise comments on behalf of the federal interior ministry stating that Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, Lashkar-i-Tayyaba founder who now heads Jamaat Dawah only, and Maulana Masood Azhar of Jaish-i-Mohammad “have been detained by the Punjab government under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance due to their activities prejudicial to public safety and maintenance of public order.”

The AAG corrected himself and submitted that according to fresh instructions received by him during tea break, the two detenus were arrested and detained under the MPO for 90 days on December 25, 2001. He hurriedly produced a detention order in respect of the Jaish chief.

Presuming that the order dealt with both detenus, petitioner-lawyer M.D. Tahir did not press for Hafiz Saeed’s detention order.

The AAG argued that the petitioner had been left with no case. Justice Bhandari also observed that the detenus should first make a representation to the home department against their incarceration.

Besides, he pointed out, the habeas corpus petition filed by the lawyer could not proceed as the detenus were not in unlawful but in preventive custody, which they could themselves challenge. The petitioner had no locus standi, he observed.

Mr Tahir recalled that he had been moving habeas corpus petitions on behalf of detenus and in one of them, he was allowed to meet the detained former president Yahya Khan.

The court adjourned the hearing to January 14 to enable the lawyer to make detailed submissions on the point.