26/11 terror attack mastermind and chief of terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba Hafiz Saeed was convicted in two terror-financing cases by a Pakistan court on February 12.
The LeT chief was sentenced to imprisonment for five and a half years with a fine of Rs 15,000 in each case.
The sentences of both cases will run simultaneously.
A Pakistan court convicts Jamat-ud-Dawa chief (JuD) Hafiz Saeed for 5 years in terror financing cases. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/NeokVilX4p
â ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2020
An anti-terrorism court in Lahore convicted Hafeez under Pakistan’s Anti Terrorism Act. The court had earlier reserved its verdict in the two cases on February 6.
Saeed is currently locked in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.
He was arrested by the Pakistan government in July 2019, after immense international pressure over the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist.
The United States had welcomed Saeed’s indictment by a Pakistani court, directing Islamabad to ensure a full prosecution of the charges against him.
Hafiz Saeed’s conviction comes days before the FATF plenary in Paris that will decide on Pakistan’s blacklisting or greylisting. The plenary meet is scheduled in Paris between February 16-21 to formally analyse Pakistan’s performance on combating money laundering and terror financing.
Hafiz Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the organisation responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai terror attack that killed 166 people.
In December 2008, Saeed was put under house arrest in Pakistan under the Maintenance of Public Order Law. In 2019, Pakistan’s counter-terrorism department held Saeed and his Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) guilty of ‘terror financing’.
Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed was recently declared a ‘global terrorist’ under the anti-terror UAPA Amendment Bill 2019.
Also Read: Mumbai Terror Attack Mastermind Hafiz Saeed Arrested, Sent To Jail On Terror Financing Charges
