An anti-terror court in Lahore on Wednesday sentenced terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed to five years in jail in connection with cases of terror financing, media reports claimed.
Saeed and his accomplices were indicted by the court in December in six cases of terror financing. The court had on Tuesday accepted a plea from Saeed to club all sixes cases of terror financing against him.
"The anti-terrorism court of Lahore accepted the plea of Saeed and his close aides seeking delay in the verdict in two concluded terror financing cases against them till the trial in other four such pending cases is complete," PTI reported.
The Counter Terrorism Department had registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province and arrested him on July 17 last year. He is lodged at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.
The cases were registered against Saeed and others 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 including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust and Muaz Bin Jabal Trust.
Saeed's Jamaat Ud Dawa is considered to be the front organisation for the Lashkar e Taiba, which carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that left 166 people dead.
The action against Saeed comes days before the Financial Action Task Force decides on Pakistan's status with respect to its actions against terror financing.
