73rd session of UN General Assembly begins Hafiz Saeed to approach court to retrieve frozen assets of JUD, FIF Zardari challenges Pakistan SC order seeking asset details

UNITED NATIONS: The 73rd session of the UN General Assembly opened Tuesday with its new President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, only the fourth women elected to the post in the history of the 193-member UN body, pledging to promote gender equality and supporting the reform process in the world body.

In her first keynote address the General Assembly, Espinosa Garces said that the need for stronger global leadership in the service of multilateralism, to ensure more peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies, would underpin her work.

"Let us proceed together, building a world more equal and free, more sustainable and respectful of nature, and more inclusive and supportive," she said. Espinosa, who was elected the President of the General Assembly in June, succeeds Miroslav Lajcak.

She is only the fourth woman to hold that position in the history of the world body, and the first woman ever from Latin America and the Caribbean region. Garces joins the small list of female assembly presidents.

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, veteran Indian diplomat and sister of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first woman to be elected President of the General Assembly in as early as 1953. Later, Angie Elisabeth Brooks of Liberia was elected president in 1969 and Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain in 2006. LAHORE: Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed plans to launch next phase of legal battle to retrieve the assets of Jamaat-ud-dawa (JUD) and its subsidiary Falah-i-insaniyat Foundation (FIF) after Pakistan's Supreme Court allowed the two outfits to continue their activities in the country, the Jud's spokesman said on Wednesday.

The government took over around 184 buildings schools, hospitals and dispensaries belonging to the JUD and FIF after the promulgation of the presidential ordinance last year and subsequently administrators were appointed there.

The government had also frozen all bank accounts of both organisations and stopped them from collecting funds.

Last week, a two-member bench of the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the government against an interim order of the Lahore High Court on April 5 which had allowed the two groups to continue their "welfare work".

The high court had restrained the government from interfering with the social work of the two groups and also allowed their legal activities.

"The JUD and FIF have only got the permission for work but its entire infrastructure is still under the government administrative control. The bank accounts are frozen and funds collection dried up. We will move the Lahore High Court to get the control of JUD and FIF properties back and also seek de-freezing their bank accounts, JUD spokesman Ahmad Nadeem told PTI on Wednesday. He said the Supreme Court's decision has given the JUD hope to get back its properties to resume its "social and charitable" works.

The JUD spokesman said: Getting all our buildings back, accounts restored and starting collection of funds are major legal challenges for us. We will take legal route, which may be longer as getting court's permission for charity work almost took seven months but that is the preferred path for us."

The Pakistani government had taken action against JUD and FIF as they were placed on the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) sanction list.

Saeed was listed under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008. He was released from house arrest in Pakistan in November. ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former president Asif Ali Zardari has filed a review petition against the Supreme Court's order seeking details of his and assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's foreign assets, contenting that it is disrespect to a "martyr", according to a media report. The Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman on Tuesday argued that such details had nothing to do with the case and that it was out of context and against his fundamental rights, the Dawn reported.

The Supreme Court while hearing a case on the recovery of losses incurred because of the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) on August 29 had asked Zardari to submit an affidavit highlighting details of foreign assets and bank accounts, including Swiss accounts, belonging to him, his slain wife, children and other dependants.