LAHORE: Irked about the absence of the interior secretary during proceedings against detention of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) leaders, a Lahore High Court judge on Tuesday observed that no citizen could be detained for an extended period on the basis of merely press clippings.

The secretary was supposed to appear before the court along with complete record of the case related to the detention of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed andfour otherleaders.

However, an officer of the Interior Ministry accompanied by a deputy attorney general told the court that the secretary could not attend the proceedings due to unavoidable official responsibilities inIslamabad. The law officer sought time to file a reply to the petition.

Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi regretted that an army of officers was assigned to protect one government personality but not a single officer was available to assist the court. Lamenting repeated requests for adjournment, the judge said the law officers wanted courts to stop working.

Justice Naqvi observed that the conduct of the government showed it had no substantial evidence against the petitioners. The judge adjourned hearing till Oct 13 reminding the government that the detention of the petitioners would be set asideifnoconcrete evidence was presented before the court.

Earlier, Advocate A.K. Dogar argued that the government detained the JuD leaders on thebasis of apprehensions and hearsay. He said under the law no presumption and assumption could give rise to any apprehension unless it was supported by evidence.

He argued that an order of preventive detention had to satisfy the requirements laid down by the Supreme Court in its many judgements but in the instant case the government had violated laws. He said imprisonment without trial and conviction was prima facie unlawful and unconstitutional.

Other detained petitioners included Abdullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Hussain.

Punjab home department had alreadytoldthe courttharactivities of JuD leaders, if released, will pose great threat to public safety and cause breach of public order. It said a number of cases had been registered against Falah-iInsaniat Foundation (FIF), a sister organisatison of JuD, for collecting hides of sacrificial animals on Eidul Azha.

It further said the detainees had also launched a campaign of their political party, which was not yet registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The department said all the law enforcement agencies strongly recommended detention of the JuD leaders in larger public interest.