CTD Punjab rejects Indian propaganda regarding acquittal of UN-designated persons

Spokesperson of CTD Punjab Wednesday called the Indian media reports of 6th November 2021 regarding acquittal of some UN-designated persons in Pakistan as irresponsible, misleading and factually incorrect.

Some sections of Indian media reported on 6th November 2021 that the Lahore High Court on Saturday set aside a trial court’s conviction and acquitted six senior leaders of Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD). As a matter of fact, no such decision has been taken by the Honorable High Court on 6 November 2021, as claimed by Indian media reports.

To put the record straight, the Lahore High Court had heard the appeal in a terrorist financing case in October 2021 involving several accused including two UN-designated individuals, Yahya Aziz and Malik Zafar Iqbal, and ruled in favour of the accused. As a next legal step, the Government of Pakistan has initiated the appeal process against the decision of the Honorable High Court. The appeal is part of due process of law in Pakistan’s criminal justice system, which has not yet reached its finality in the case. The Indian media reports sensationalizing the legal process of another country is unfortunate.

The accused in the subject case, Yahya Aziz and Malik Zafar Iqbal, are convicted in more than 10 terrorist financing cases and are serving their sentences. Notably, all leaders of JuD including Hafiz Muhammad Saeed remain convicted in multiple terror financing cases and none of them has been released from custody.