ISLAMABAD: Hafiz Saeed, founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and head of the Jamaat-ud-daawa (JuD), had to be detained because his activities could have hurt Pakistan's relations with neighbouring countries, the Lahore High Court heard on Monday.

The detention order that the Assistant Advocate-General of Punjab presented to the court also says JuD workers were observed collecting donations for the war victims of Palestine and Lebanon, that the organisation had "generally" increased its activities, and that this could hurt Pakistan's relations with its "neighbours."

The detention order does not mention any country by name. This is the first time the Government has given reasons for the detention of Mr. Saeed, a controversial figure in India-Pakistan relations as well as internationally, for his LeT associations.

Pressure from India

India demanded his arrest many times, most recently after the July 11 Mumbai blasts and Pakistan has been under some pressure to ban the JuD after the U.S. put it on its list of terror organisations.

The former professor of Islamic studies who founded LeT and later the JuD was first placed under house arrest on August 9.

He was ordered released by the Lahore High Court, following its dissatisfaction with the Government's contention that he was a threat to public order because he was fiery public speaker.

But within an hour or so of his release on August 28, he was rearrested, and confined to a guest house in Sheikhopura outside Lahore.

The former professor of Islamic studies challenged his detention once again before the Lahore High Court.

A writ petition filed in the court by his wife Mamoona Saeed on September 29 said he had been arrested under pressure from India and the U.S.

The final hearing is on Tuesday.

"... the successive detention orders passed by the respondents [the Punjab Government and the State] is very alarming and showed their ill-will and malafide intention and from this aspect it is amply proved that the respondents are making a mockery of law just to please the RAW, the Jewish lobby and extremist Hindu elements of India," the petition said.

At the last hearing, the court directed the Punjab Government to present Mr. Saeed's detention orders after his lawyer pointed out that although more than a month had passed since the arrest, neither he nor his client had seen the orders.

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