26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed arrested and sent to judicial custody

Islamabad, July 17: The Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks mastermind and proscribed religious outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was arrested by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Wednesday.

Reportedly, Saeed was travelling from Lahore to Gujranwala when the arrest took place. The arrest has been made to avoid FATF blacklisting of Pakistan.

Saeed has been sent to judicial custody now. Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab Government in Pakistan (CTD) officials are expected to hold a press conference later in the day regarding the arrest.

On Monday the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan granted pre-arrest bail to Saeed and three others in a case pertaining to organisation's purported illegal use of land for its seminary.

The court granted interim bail to the accused, including Hafiz Saeed, Hafiz Masood, Ameer Hamza, and Malik Zafar, until Aug 31 against surety bonds of Rs50,000 each.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court (LHC), while hearing a petition filed by JuD Chief Saeed and his seven aides challenging a case carrying the charge of terror financing lodged by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), issued notices to the federal government, the Punjab government and CTD. The two-member bench of the LHC, comprising Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry and Justice Mohammad Waheed Khan, asked the parties to submit their respective responses within two weeks. Prior to this, the CTD on July 3 booked Hafiz Saeed and others in cases of terror financing.