Militant case referred to Lahore chief justice

With the leader of the militant Jamaatud Daawa (JUD), Hafiz Saeed, now missing for over two months, a judge of the Lahore High Court has forwarded a new habeas corpus petition for Saeed to the chief justice of the court.

The action by Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry came after the lawyer for the petitioner pointed out that Saeed's continued detention violated Justice Chaudhry's earlier orders and as such a "contempt of court".

In January this year, a three-member review bench of the Lahore High Court declined to extend the detention period of Saeed. Justice Chaudhry was a member of that bench.

Following this court order, Saeed, who had been detained for 90 days in October, 2001 under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) regulations, was released briefly, but then 'picked up' again.

His family and lawyers insist he is in the custody of the government or an official agency working for it.

After hearing the lawyers for Saeed, Justice Chaudhry decided that another judge should determine if his continued detention amounted to contempt of court.

The petition was, therefore, sent back on Tuesday to the chief justice of the High Court. Under Pakistan's laws, contempt of court is a serious offence, punishable by imprisonment, a fine, or both.

The problem for the court stems from the fact that the federal and provincial governments deny any knowledge of Saeed's whereabouts. His family's request, that this matter be "treated as a kidnapping" has so far been ignored.

The Punjab minister for religious affairs has through the provincial Advocate General, Maqbool Elahi Malik, denied the contents of a newspaper interview in March this year in which he was quoted as saying that Saeed had been "picked up" by the Punjab police.

The mystery surrounding Saeed's disappearance is significant as the government has not made any effort to deny the detention of other leaders involved in militant activities in Kashmir.

As such, it is known that the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar is in a Rawalpindi jail and other leaders linked to 'jihadi' groups are being kept at Adiala, Haripur, Kot Lakhpat and other jails.

In view of this, it is unclear why Saeed's whereabouts are being covered up. The government's claim that he has "staged this drama to attract publicity" has little credibility. Saeed is known to be a mature, scholarly leader – committed to the 'jihad' or 'holy war' in Kashmir.

The members of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LET), with which Saeed is closely associated and which he had in the past led prior to its separation from the JUD, believe Saeed is being held by the Inter-Services Intelligence.

LET members also say they have information that Saeed was also questioned by some officials of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations.

It is suspected that U.S. interest in the matter may stem from funds available to the LET and its links with groups such as the Al Qaida.