Pakistan books 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed for financing terrorism, India looks for irreversible actions 

Hafiz Saeed.

New Delhi: In the wake of growing international pressure on Pakistan to act against money laundering and terrorism financing, Pakistani authorities, on Wednesday, announced that the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed and his 12 accomplices have been booked for financing terrorism in 23 cases.

The mastermind of 26/11 gruesome Mumbai terror attack and one of the founders of terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hafiz Saeed has been designated as a global terrorist by the United Nations. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has recently placed Pakistan on its grey list and warned that it would end up on the black list if it fails to control terrorism financing.

According to the counterterrorism department of Pakistan, JuD chief and his accomplices has used five trusts including Al-Anfaal, Dawat-ul-Irshad and Muaz Bin Jabal to raise funds for terrorism financing.

The department said, “They made these assets from funds of terrorism financing. They held and used these assets to raise more funds for further terrorism financing. They will be prosecuted in anti-terrorism courts for commission of these offences.”

‘Seen it all before’

With the action initiated by the Pakistani authorities, India said it was expecting irreversible and verified action against terror from the neighbouring country. Media reported that government sources said, “We have seen this ‘action’ before. It is important that the action is irreversible and verifiable.”

The gruesome terrorist attack on the bus carrying CRPF personnel in February 14, 2019 that killed 40 security personnel has turned the attention of world leaders to the spreading terrorism and its finances. The United Nations and the United States have been putting pressure on Pakistan to stop financing terrorism groups operating from its soil.

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