Islamabad: The wife of Hafees Muhammad Saeed, chief of the banned Pak-based militant organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba, has filed a contempt petition in the Lahore High Court against the federal and provincial Punjab governments for "illegally" detaining her husband and telling the courts that he was not in their custody.

Hafiza Memona has also demanded Rs 10,000 a day as compensation from the government for "illegally" detaining her husband.

In the petition filed on November 8, Memona said the government's orders to keep Hafiz Saeed under house arrest were illegal and violated several articles of Pakistan's Constitution.

She alleged both the federal and provincial governments had committed contempt of court by telling the court in response to her earlier petition that Saeed was not in prison.

Memona said her husband was taken into preventive custody on December 21, 2001, for his alleged involvement in the December 13 attack on the Indian Parliament.

He was released on March 31, 2002, following orders of the Lahore High Court, but police arrested him on May 15 when he was on his way to Islamabad from Lahore.

She said she had filed a writ petition for the recovery of her husband from official custody earlier but the federal Interior Minister and Punjab Home Minister have denied their involvement in the "disappearance" of Saeed.

Memona said her husband was detained without any written order and responsible authorities had assured her that he would be released if her writ petition was withdrawn.

PTI