Twelve years after the 11/26 attacks in Mumbai, the United States has announced a reward of up to $ 5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba member Sajid Mir for his “role.” in the attacks in Mumbai. in 2008.
According to an official statement issued by the US Justice Rewards program, “Sajid Mir, a high-ranking member of the Pakistan-based foreign terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), is wanted for his involvement in the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. The Rewards for Justice program offers a reward of up to USD 5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of Sajid Mir for his role in these attacks. “
On November 26, 2008, 10 terrorists, trained by the Pakistan-based terrorist organization LeT, carried out a series of coordinated attacks against multiple targets in Mumbai: the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Oberoi Hotel, the Leopold Cafe, the Nariman (Chabad) House and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus – killing 166 people.
In these gruesome attacks, nine terrorists were killed and the only survivor, Ajmal Amir Kasab, was captured and sentenced to death. On November 11, 2012, Kasab was hanged at the Yerwada Central Jail in Pune.
“Sajid Mir was LeT’s operations manager for the Mumbai attack, playing a leading role in its planning, preparation and execution. Mir was indicted in the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (Chicago, Illinois) on April 21, 2011, and was charged with conspiracy to damage the property of a foreign government; provide material support to terrorists; aiding and abetting the murder of a citizen outside the United States; and the bombing of places of public use. According to the indictment, during the attacks, Mir advised the attackers to kill the hostages, set fire and throw grenades and also called for the release of a hostage in exchange for the release of a captured attacker. On April 22, 2011, an arrest warrant was issued for Mir. In 2019, Mir was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List, ”the department said.
It added that on August 30, 2012, the Treasury Department appointed Mir to leadership positions within the LeT. “According to the US Department of the Treasury, in 2005, Mir led the training of operatives preparing for recruitment, money laundering and operational planning abroad. The LeT was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department in December 2001, ”the department added.
However, the Pakistani authorities continue to deny his guilt and have yet to take action on the multiple files shared by India. An ongoing trial in a Pakistani anti-terror court against seven suspects has made little progress in more than a decade as Pakistani officials seriously question the sufficiency and legitimacy of the evidence against them.
Pakistan has been placed on the country’s FATF gray list with inadequate controls on terrorist financing in 2018, saying that Pakistan “still needs to demonstrate that law enforcement agencies are identifying and investigating the broader range of financing activities. terrorism “.
Pakistan has long been criticized for cultivating terrorist groups and the country is currently facing new pressure to act against terrorists.
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