Pakistan court convicts Hafiz Saeed in terror financing cases

Lahore, Feb 12: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Wednesday sentenced Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed to 11 years in jail in terror financing cases.

A court official confirmed to PTI that Saeed was sentenced in two terror financing cases in Punjab province. The anti-terrorism court or ATC had indicted Saeed and his close aides on December 11 in terror financing case in day-to-day hearing. The court sentenced Saeed to five and a half years and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 in each case.

The sentences of both cases will run concurrently. The cases were registered against Saeed in Lahore and Gujranwala cities on the application of the Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab police.

Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans. The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.