THE case against Hafiz Saeed, the Jama'at-ud-Dawa chief, is a case of lack of seriousness, plain and simple, on the part of the federal government. The Punjab government, therefore, appears to be justified in seeking its withdrawal from the Supreme Court since the federal government, at whose instance it had put him under house arrest, is not coming up with sufficient evidence to enable it to pursue the matter. Punjab Advocate General Raza Farooq charged that the centre had failed to cooperate. On the other hand, Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar, who represented the centre at the Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday, argued that the evidence was being collected and asked the court for more time. The scenario clearly smacks of non-seriousness shown by the federal government, and the argument of Mr Khawar sounds quite flimsy. If it could not gather solid evidence during more than three months since Hafiz Saeed was put under house arrest, it is hardly likely that 'more time' it has demanded would serve the purpose. The federal government ought to come clean and let the apex court know the circumstances that prompted it to advise the province to proceed against Hafiz Saeed. At this point of time when Prime Ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Manmohan Singh would be meeting on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement meeting at Sharm El-Sheikh, the federal government's attitude is incomprehensible. It would only create embarrassment for Mr Gilani. The Indian side would have a chance to play up the point that Pakistan is not genuinely interested in pursuing the case. If there is nothing against Hafiz Saeed, it should feel no hesitation in releasing him and making an official statement about it and if there is proof of his involvement, he should be dealt with under the law.