A court in Gujranwala on Wednesday extended the judicial remand of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed for 14 days.

Special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) judge Syed Ali Imran ordered the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to complete its investigation and present a formal chalan in court on August 7. The court said that Saeed should also be presented in court on Aug 7.

Ahead of the JuD chief's appearance, strict security arrangements were made inside and outside the court premises with Anti-Riot Police, Dolphin Force and Elite Force personnel as well as police officials being deployed.

Following his arrest on July 17, Saeed had been sent to jail on seven-day judicial remand.

He had been arrested in connection with a terrorism financing case while on his way from Lahore to Gujranwala.

Six suspects — Saeed, Mohammad Ali of Malikwal, Abdul Ghaffar of Okara, Hafiz Masood of Johar Town (Lahore), Ameer Hamza of Al Faisal Town and Malik Zafar Iqbal of Sheikhupura — were nominated in the FIR registered against them on July 1 on a complaint of the CTD.

On July 3, the top 13 leaders of the banned JuD, including Saeed and Naib Emir Abdul Rehman Makki, were booked in nearly two dozen cases for terror financing and money laundering under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

The CTD, which registered the cases in five cities of Punjab, declared that the JuD was financing terrorism from the massive funds collected through non-profit organisations and trusts, including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust, Muaz Bin Jabal Trust, etc.

These non-profit organisations were banned in April as the CTD during detailed investigations found that they had links with the JuD and its top leadership, accused of financing terrorism by building huge assets/properties from the collected funds in Pakistan.