JuD has links with Al-Qaeda, says Pak Govt

For the first time, Pakistan government on Saturday admitted that the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, blamed for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has 'prima facie' links with Al-Qaeda, as it justified the detention of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and another top leader after the terror strikes on Mumbai.

Submitting his arguments on Saeed -- also the founder of Lashkar-e-Toiba -- and Col (retd) Nazir Ahmed's petition against their detention, Attorney General Latif Khosa told the Lahore High Court that the government had received 'evidence' that showed the JuD "prima facie has links with Al-Qaeda."

Khosa said the government had "classified information" that would justify the detention of the JuD leaders.

On his request, the three-member bench, headed by Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry, had a closed-door meeting with him where he apprised them of the classified information in this regard.
The court adjourned the hearing till Monday.

A K Dogar, counsel for Saeed and Nazir, protested against the in-camera briefing, saying that it was the right of his clients to know about the grounds of their detention. He said if the government had any 'legal justification', it must be provided to them as well.

Responding to Dogar's statement, Khosa said the judicial review board had extended the detention period of the JuD leaders and also provided legal grounds in this respect.