Pakistan Arrests 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack Mastermind Hafiz Saeed

Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and several other terrorists attacks, has been arrested in Pakistan.

Hafiz Saeed

Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and several other terrorists attacks, has been arrested in Pakistan. Hafiz Saeed was arrested on Wednesday when he was on his way to Gujranwala from Lahore. The Imran Khan government has been under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to act against terror outfits and terrorists operating out of Pakistan. Hafiz Saeed was earlier this month booked along with 12 accomplices for terror funding. He is facing 23 terror-related cases in Pakistan. But he was granted bail as the government did not produce concrete evidence to before the court.

Jamatud Dawa's Hafiz Saeed arrested and sent to judicial custody: Pakistan media (file pic) pic.twitter.com/1Txu9BlvoK

— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2019

Pakistani media reports said that the anti-terrorism court of Lahore granted pre-arrest bail to Hafiz Saeed, who is the chief of Jamat ud Dawa (JuD), a front of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. The case, reports said, pertains to the JuD's illegal use of land for its seminary. Mumbai terror attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and his three aides were granted pre-arrest bail on Monday by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan in a case pertaining to the banned outfit's illegal use of land for its seminary. The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore granted interim bail to Saeed and his aides - Hafiz Masood, Ameer Hamza, and Malik Zafar - until August 31 against surety bonds of Rs 50,000 each, Dawn newspaper reported. During the hearing, Saeed's counsel insisted that Jamat-ud Dawah (JuD) was not using any piece of land illegally and urged the court to accept bail pleas. According to officials, JuD's network includes 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance service. In March, Punjab police said that government seized control of 160 seminaries, 32 schools, two colleges, four hospitals, 178 ambulances and 153 dispensaries associated with the JuD and its charity wing the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) in province. At least 56 seminaries and facilities being run by the JuD and FIF in southern Sindh province were also taken over by authorities in the same month. Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. 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 Saeed to justice. Under pressure from the international community, Pakistani authorities have launched investigations into matters of the JuD, LeT and the FIF regarding their holding and use of trusts to raise funds for terrorism financing. Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued notices to the federal government, the Punjab government and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) regarding a petition filed by Saeed and his seven aides, challenging charges of terror financing and money laundering against them.