Pakistan Court to Take Up Terror Financing Charges Against Hafiz Saeed on September 2, Says Official

Lahore: An Anti-Terrorism Court in Pakistan will take up the terror financing charges against Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jammat-ud Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed on September 2, an official said on Friday.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab Police declared Saeed "guilty of terror financing" in the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Gujranwala district of the Punjab province on August 7.

The ATC Gujranwala in the last hearing had shifted the case to Gujrat ATC court (some 200-km from Lahore) on the request of the prosecution as it was related to Mandi Bhauddin district of Punjab.

"The ATC Gujrat will take up the terror financing charges against Saeed on September 2. The CTD has declared him guilty of terror financing and it will plead its case before the ATC and get him convicted for his crime," a CTD official told PTI.

Saeed is being kept at Lahore's high security Kot Lakhpat jail amid high security. The founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba was arrested on July 17.

The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings him to justice.

Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. He was listed under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.

The CTD on July 3 registered 23 FIRs against 13 JuD leaders, including Saeed on the charges of terror financing in different cities of the Punjab province.

Since the Imran Khan government has taken control of the JuD and its charity wing Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) properties including seminaries and mosques across the country following immense international pressure built up after the Pulwama attack, Saeed was keeping a low profile at his Lahore's Jauhar Town residence.

He was even barred from entering the JuD headquarters in Lahore and Muridke.

The Pakistani government had also arrested the JuD's second-in-command Abdul Rehman Makki, who is brother-in-law of Saeed, on the charges of making a public speech and terror financing charges.

The CTD said it booked Saeed and his 12 aides for 'terror financing' in 23 cases after "irrefutable evidence" against them was detected.

The cases have been registered in Lahore, Gujranwala and Multan for collection of funds for terrorism financing through assets/properties made and held in the names of Trusts/ Non Profit Organisations (NPO) including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust and Muaz Bin Jabal Trust.

The CTD said the investigation launched into financing matters of proscribed organisations - JuD and LeT - in connection with implementation of the UN Sanctions against these Designated Entities and Persons as directed by the NSC (National Security Committee) in its Meeting of January 1.

"These suspects made assets from funds of terrorism financing. They held and used these assets to raise more funds for further terrorism financing. Hence, they committed multiple offences of terrorism financing and money laundering under Anti Terrorism Act 1997. They will be prosecuted in ATCs (Anti Terrorism Courts) for commission of these offences," the CTD said.

Makki, MaliK Zafar Iqbal, Ameer Hamza, Muhammad Yahya Aziz, Muhammad Naeem Sh, Mohsin Bilal, Abdul Raqeeb, Ahmad Daud, Muhammad Ayub, Abdullah Ubaid, Muhammad Ali and Abdul Ghaffar are other suspects.

The other suspects are reported to have been hiding since the government took over the properties of these organisations.