A Pakistani court on Thursday awarded Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, held responsible by India for planning the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and two close associates prison terms totaling 10 and a half years in two cases of terrorist financing. – a decision likely influenced by pressure on Islamabad by the Financial Action Task Force. It is also considered an indication of Saeed’s diminishing utility for Pakistan.
In addition to Saeed, the others convicted by the Lahore anti-terror court are Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) leaders Zafar Iqbal and Yahya Mujahid, who served as JuD spokesperson for many years. All three have been sanctioned by the UN Security Council.
Saeed’s brother-in-law, Abdul Rehman Makki, also a senior JuD leader, received a six-month sentence in the same cases. Saeed, who is currently serving a prison term in connection with other terrorist financing cases, was brought forward for sentencing by anti-terror court judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta.
Saeed received two separate five-year prison terms under the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act for using and providing funds for acts of terrorism. He was also given a six-month prison term for being a member of a banned group. The judge ordered the seizure of Saeed’s “movable and immovable property” and ordered him to pay fines totaling 110,000 Pakistani rupees.
All three sentences will run at the same time. Since Saeed is already in jail serving two five-and-a-half-year sentences that were given to him in February, he will not serve any additional jail time.
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“Given that the convicted person has already been convicted … by this court ruling dated 12.02.2020, the punishment that was awarded in this case will also be simultaneous to the punishment in such cases,” said the court order.
People familiar with the events said that, on condition of anonymity, Saeed’s sentence was largely due to pressure on Pakistan from Western powers and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to crack down on the groups. terrorists and terrorist financing, including the prosecution of those who funnel funds to terrorists. .
The people added that Saeed’s conviction in four separate cases this year could be an indication that the military establishment no longer considers him an asset. Virtually all of Saeed’s top aides have been arrested and brought to trial, and there are indications that they no longer play a role in directing LeT’s operations.
“It appears that LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who was arrested for the Mumbai attacks and later released on bail in 2015, is the main person leading the operations (of the terrorist group),” said one of the people cited above. Lakhvi’s current whereabouts are unknown.
Punjab Police registered a total of 41 cases against Saeed and his assistants after their arrest in July 2019. Of these cases, two were decided on Thursday, bringing the count of cases decided so far to 24. The rest still remain. it is being heard by antiterrorist courts. Saeed and his assistants are being held in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Prison.
There was no immediate reaction from Indian officials to Saeed’s sentence.
When asked at a weekly press conference about Pakistan-backed terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir, Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said that India had protested against Pakistan’s “continued support for infiltration. cross-border terrorist in India “and reminded Islamabad of its bilateral commitment to now allow any territory under its control to be used for terrorism.
Srivastava also “the incessant infiltration of terrorists and the induction of weapons to fuel terrorist activities continues unabated” and these activities were not possible without the support of the Pakistani forces deployed along the Line of Control.
Sameer Patil, a fellow for international security studies at Gateway House, said Pakistan could say after Saeed’s sentencing in several cases that it has complied with the FATF demand to prosecute those involved in terrorist financing and claim a moral victory. . But it is more important to see what Saeed does next, including the outcome of any appeals in higher courts. The Pakistani establishment may have euthanized Saeed, but his network remains and his son Talha Saeed and Lakhvi are still active. The game is not over yet, ”he said.
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