Hafiz Saeed's terror funding case to be shifted to Lahore

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday allowed that a terrorism financing case against Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, be shifted from a Gujranwala anti-terrorism court (ATC) to the one here.

LHC Chief Justice Sardar Shamim Ahmed heard a petition filed by Saeed in which he said that he was being kept in a jail in Lahore but was transported to Gujranwala for every appearance before the court, reports Dawn news.

The JuD chief said that in light of the security situation, appearing before the Gujranwala court was not fitting and added that if he was being held in a jail in Lahore, the case should also be shifted there.

During the proceedings, a lawyer for the government said that they had no objection to shifting the case.

Issuing the order, the LHC Chief Justice wrapped up the petition.

In July, Saeed was arrested in connection with the terrorism financing case while on his way from Lahore to Gujranwala.

Prior to his arrest, top 13 JuD leaders, including Saeed and Naib Emir Abdul Rehman Makki, were booked in nearly two dozen cases for terror financing and money laundering under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Last week, the sanctions committee of the UN Security Council allowed Pakistan to let Saeed, a UN-designated global terrorist, use his bank account for personal expenses.

Pakistan had frozen his bank accounts in compliance with a Security Council resolution seeking such a ban.