LAHORE: A Lahore High Court two-judge bench on Monday admitted for regular hearing a petition seeking cancellation of 23 FIRs registered against banned Jamatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and other leaders on charges of using different properties for terror financing.

The bench comprising Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan and Justice Asjad Javed Goral took up the petition and sought para-wise comments from the respondents, including federal and provincial governments and the Counter Terrorism Department. The hearing was adjourned for Oct 28.

Malik Zafar Iqbal, secretary of Al-Infal Trust (a subsidiary of JuD), challenged the cases against 65 leaders and members of the organisation.

Advocate A K Dogar represented the petitioner and told the court that the properties in question had never been used for terror financing as there was no tangible evidence on record to support such “bald allegations”.

He said describing Hafiz Saeed and other leaders of the banned JuD as leaders of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) was factually and legally incorrect. He submitted that a full bench of the high court in a case against detention of JuD leaders had already declared in its 2009 judgment that Mr Saeed and others were not banned LeT members.

The counsel said the petitioners had never been involved in any activity against the country, nor they had links to any terrorist organisation. He said allegation against Hafiz Saeed and others of being involved in Mumbai attacks was “nothing but propaganda of Indian lobby”.

He argued that the properties mentioned in the FIRs stood dedicated to the purpose of mosques and being used for the last so many years.

He asked the court to declare the impugned FIRs unlawful and also declare that the JuD leaders nominated in them had no connection with the banned LeT. Mr Saeed and others are now on judicial remand.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2019