The Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on July 15 granted pre-arrest bail to Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed and three others in a case pertaining to alleged illegal use of land by the outfit for its seminary, reports Daily Times. The court granted interim bail to the accused – Hafiz Saeed, Hafiz Masood, Ameer Hamza, and Malik Zafar – until August 3 against surety bonds of PKR 50,000 each. During the hearing, the legal counsel of the accused insisted that JuD is not using any piece of the land illegally and urged the court to accept the bail petitions.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued notices to the Federal Government, the Punjab Government and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) over a petition filed by Hafiz Saeed and his seven aides, challenging a case carrying charge of terror financing lodged by the CTD. A two-member bench of the LHC comprising Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry and Justice Waheed Khan asked the parties to submit their replies within two weeks. A lawyer for the Federal Government objected to the notices, arguing that the petition was non-maintainable. The bench, however, dismissed the objection and adjourned proceedings until July 30.