Pakistani court indicts Hafiz Saeed on terror financing charges

Hafiz Saeed, the Mumbai terror attack mastermind and chief of the banned JuD, was indicted on Wednesday by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court on terror financing charges.

Anti Terrorism Court-I judge Malik Arshad Bhutta charged Saeed along with his accomplices with "terror financing" in different cities of Punjab province.

On Saturday, the court had delayed the indictment owing to unavailability of one of the suspects in a case registered by the Counter-terrorism Department (CTD) on charges of terror financing.

The CTD of the Punjab Police on July 17 registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of "terror financing" in different cities of Punjab province and arrested the Jammat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief. He is detained at the Kot Lakhpat jail.

The cases have been registered in Lahore, Gujranwala and Multan cities for collection of funds for terror 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.

Under pressure from the international community, the Pakistani authorities have launched investigations into matters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, JuD and its charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) for their holding and use of trusts to raise funds for terrorism financing.

Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people.


Chronology of indictment of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed: 

Following is the chronology of the developments leading to the indictment of Mumbai terror attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed:

November 26, 2008: Ten heavily-armed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists carry out attacks at multiple locations in Mumbai, killing 166 people. Nine attackers are killed, Ajmal Amir Kasab is the sole attacker to be caught alive.

December 2008: India submits a formal request to the UN Security Council to put Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the front organisation of LeT, and Hafiz Saeed on the list of individuals and organisations sanctioned by the United Nations for association with terrorism.

December 10, 2008: Saeed is listed by the UN Security Council as "being associated with the LeT.

December 11, 2008: Saeed is put under house arrest in Pakistan under the Maintenance of Public Order law.

August 26, 2009: Interpol issues a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Saeed in response to India's requests for his extradition.

October 2009: Lahore High Court drops all criminal charges against Saeed and states that JuD is not a banned organisation.

April 3, 2012: The US places a USD 10 million bounty on Saeed for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attack. JuD and LeT are blacklisted by America.

August 30, 2012: The US Department of the Treasury designates Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

January 22, 2015: Pakistan's interior ministry includes the JuD and the Haqqani network on a list of banned outfits as part of a move towards the execution of the National Action Plan against terrorism.

November 2016: Pakistan bans the media coverage of JuD and Saeed after the organisation is added to the international list of terrorist groups.

November 24, 2017: Nearly 10 months after his house arrest in January, Saeed is freed again on the orders of the Lahore High Court.

December 3, 2017: Saeed confirms that his organisation JuD will contest the 2018 general elections in Pakistan under the banner of the Milli Muslim League.

December 18, 2018: Saeed dons the hat of a writer, writes a coloumn for a leading Urdu newspaper.

February 22, 2019: Pakistan bans Saeed's terror outfit JuD and its front Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) amid intense global pressure to rein in the terror groups after the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

March 7, 2019: The United Nations rejects an appeal of Saeed to remove his name from its list of banned terrorists.

July 3, 2019: Top 13 JuD leaders, including Saeed and Naib Emir Abdul Rehman Makki are booked in nearly two dozen cases for terror financing and money laundering.

July 4, 2019: Pakistan's counter-terrorism department launches 23 cases against Saeed and 12 aides for using five trusts to collect funds and donations for LeT.

August 7, 2019: Pakistan's counter-terrorism department holds Saeed and JuD guilty of 'terror financing'.

September 27, 2019: The US asks Pakistan to prosecute terrorists like Saeed and Masood Azhar.

November 30, 2019: Pakistan government says Saeed will be prosecuted for terror financing charges by an anti-terrorism court on December 7.

December 7, 2019 An anti-terrorism court in Lahore fails to indict Saeed as authorities fail to produce a co-accused in court.

December 11, 2019: Anti-terrorism court indicts Saeed and three of his close aides on terror financing charges.