LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh on Friday allowed shifting of two cases against Jamatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and his four associates from Sahiwal to Lahore.

The CJ allowed an application by the JuD leaders after Additional Prosecutor General Abdul Samad Khan said the prosecution had no objection if the court transferred the cases.

Advocate Imran Fazal Gill submitted that two cases were pending against the petitioners before anti-terrorism courts of Sahiwal while some other identical cases were also being heard by a Lahore’s trial court.

He asked the court to order consolidation of all cases against the petitioners at Lahore as they involved similar charges and questions of law.

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) had registered 23 cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, in police stations of Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan, Sahiwal, Faisalabad and Sargodha against Makki, JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and other leaders.

The CTD accused them of using properties of religious seminaries and mosques for terror financing.

However, the defence rejected the allegations against the JuD leaders as baseless and a result of international pressure on government.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2020