A notice has been issued by a new bench of the Lahore High court to the Pakistan and Punjab governments. The notice was issued on a petition challenging detention of Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamat-ud Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed and his four aides.

The third bench headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan on Wednesday held hearing on their petition.

Earlier, the LHC chief justice changed two successive benches hearing this petition for different reasons.

The second two-member bench headed by Justice Kazim Raza Shamsi was changed because one of its members - Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmad ? was transferred while the first bench headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan was changed as the court termed it a "routine matter".

The third (new) bench headed by Justice Khan heard the arguments of advocate A K Dogar, the counsel of Saeed, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid, Qazi Kashif Hussain and Abdullah Ubaid, who had challeneged their detention under anti-terrorism law.

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Dogar said the government had detained the JuD leaders without any justification. He said the UN resolution followed by the government did not seek detention of any citizen.

He alleged that the government had detained the petitioners to please India and the US.

He also questioned the powers of the Punjab government to include any citizen in the fourth schedule without trial, saying the powers solely vested with the federal government.

The court issued notices to the federal and provincial governments for submitting of their replies till next hearing on April 20.

The government on January 30 had put Saeed and the four leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat under house arrest in Lahore under the country?s anti-terrorism act.

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