Pak goofs up again on JuD chief Saeed

Pakistan Supreme Court on Monday rejected, on technical grounds, two petitions by the Pakistan and Punjab governments challenging release of Hafiz Mohd Saeed, Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief and a key accused in the Mumbai attacks, from house arrest, prompting authorities to announce they will file fresh pleas after removing the flaws.

The petitions were submitted on Saturday even though the office of the Supreme Court registrar had not completed formalities for them to be taken up by a bench.

The petitions were rejected on Monday afternoon due to technical flaws, sources said.

Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar told media persons that the registrar had returned the petitions as they challenged only the release of Saeed and his close aide Col (retd) Nazir Ahmed on the orders of the Lahore High Court.

The office of the registrar said two other JuD leaders -- Amir Hamza and Mufti Abdur Rehman -- who were originally party to the matter should also be included in the petitions, Khawar said.

A judicial review board freed hamza and Rehman, detained along with Saeed in December last year in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, in May.

Khawar said the petitions would be submitted again on Monday after removing the technical flaws.