Lahore: Hafiz Saeed, the Mumbai terror attack mastermind and chief of the banned JuD, was indicted on Wednesday by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court here on terror financing charges, amidst intense international pressure on Islamabad to bring him to justice.
The anti-terrorism court (ATC) Lahore indicted Saeed and three of his top aides Hafiz Abdul Salam bin Muhammad, Muhammad Ashraf and Zafar Iqbal on terror financing charges.
ATC Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta directed the prosecution to produce the witnesses and adjourned the hearing till Thursday. Saeed, 69, along with the other accused, were presented before the court today under tight security.
“Saeed and his aides’ lawyers made their arguments requesting the court not to indict their clients,” a court official told PTI after the hearing. “Deputy Prosecutor General Punjab Abdur Rauf, pleading for framing the charges against the accused said Saeed and others are involved in terror financing case and the Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab police has presented evidence for it,” the official said. The official said the accused were also provided the copies of the charge sheet.
Like the previous hearings, journalists were not allowed to enter the court premises to cover the proceedings. Saeed is detained at the high-security Kot Lakhpat jail here.
On December 7, the ATC could not indict Saeed, and others as one of the co-accused, Zafar Iqbal, was not produced before the court by the authorities. Saeed’s indictment comes amidst growing international pressure on Pakistan to rein-in terror groups operating from its soil and bring to justice terror group leaders like Saeed.
In October, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) warned Pakistan that it will be blacklisted if it does not control terror funding by February next, voicing serious concern over the country’s failure to deliver on most of its 27 targets. The Paris-based international terror financing watchdog issued the warning to Pakistan while deciding to again place the country on the ‘Grey List’.
While asking Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by February 2020, the FATF warned that it would take action against the country.
The threat to Pakistan’s economy virtually put the country’s entire machinery into an aggressive mode to show tangible progress within two months of the warning, Dawn newspaper noted.
On the 11th anniversary of the 26/11 terror attack, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it is an affront to the 166 innocent victims and their families that the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack have still not been convicted. (PTI)
