Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jammat-ud Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed was declared guilty of "terror financing" by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in a Pakistani court on Wednesday.
Saeed, a UN designated terrorist on whom the US has placed a $10 million bounty, was presented before the anti-terrorism court (ATC) Gujranwala, some 80km from Lahore, in high security where he was charge-sheeted for terror financing by the CTD of Punjab police.
A CTD official told PTI that it submitted challan in the ATC declaring Saeed guilty of terror financing.
"Since the case is related to Mandi Bhauddin district of Punjab, therefore, the prosecution requested the court to shift it to Gujrat ATC court (some 200km from Lahore)," he said.
On the prosecution's request, the ATC Gujranwala shifted the case to the Gujrat ATC. He said next hearing of the case (which is yet to be fixed) will be held in the Gujrat ATC.
Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Saeed was travelling to Gujranwala from Lahore to get pre-arrest bail in terror financing cases registered against him there when he was arrested on July 17. Saeed is being kept at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore in high security.
The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a specially designated global terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a $10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.
The 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. Saeed 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 Punjab province.
Since the Imran Khan government has taken control of the properties of JuD and its charity wing Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) 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 Jauhar Town residence in Lahore. 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.
The CTD said it booked Saeed and 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.
"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 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 the remaining suspects.
The other suspects are reported to have been hiding since the government took over over the properties of these organisations.
