Pak court admits Saeed's plea challenging cases against him

A Pakistani court today admitted a petition filed by banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed challenging two cases registered against him by police under the Anti-Terrorism Act for inciting people to wage 'jehad'.

After a preliminary hearing, a two-judge bench of the Lahore High Court issued notices to the federal and Punjab governments and police officials in connection with the two First Information Reports registered in Faisalabad against Saeed, who has been blamed by India for masterminding the Mumbai terror attacks. The bench set October 12 as the date for the hearing of the petition.

Police in Faisalabad in Punjab province recently filed two FIRs against Saeed for making speeches in the city in which he allegedly called on people to wage jehad or holy war against infidels and sought funds for his banned group.

Talking to reporters outside the Lahore High Court, Saeed's counsel AK Dogar claimed the JuD's chief call for jehad was not illegal as such a measure is obligatory according to the Quran.

Dogar claimed the JuD is not a banned group and restrictions imposed on by the UN Security Council did not apply in a "sovereign country" like Pakistan. He also claimed India was wrongly accusing Saeed of involvement in last year's Mumbai attacks.