Facing pressure, Pakistan books Hafiz Saeed for 'terror financing'
Amid global pressure to act against home-grown terrorism, Pakistani authorities on Wednesday booked Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, for terrorism financing. Saeed and his 12 accomplices were slapped with 23 cases, Pakistan's counter-terrorism department (CTD) said in a statement. A spokesperson of CTD said cases have been registered in Lahore, Gujranwala, and Multan. Here are more details.
Here are the outfits which were booked by CTD
The leadership of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) were booked on July 1 and 2, revealed CTD. These outfits used trusts/NPOs like Dawat-ul-Irshad Trust, Muaz-Bin-Jabal Trust, Al-Anfaal Trust, Al-Hamd Trust, and Al-Madina Foundation Trust, to promote terrorism. CTD explained that JuD, LeT, and FIF made assets from funds of terrorism financing. Later, they used these assets to raise more funds.
CTD claimed action was taken in accordance with UN sanctions
"They committed multiple offenses of terrorism financing and money laundering under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. They will be prosecuted in anti-terrorism courts for the commission of these offenses. These assets/NPOs have already been taken over by the government in compliance with the UN's sanctions," CTD said.
Saeed's brother-in-law, his accomplices face action
Apart from Saeed, three main members of JuD were booked in these cases. These include Saeed's brother-in-law Abdul Rehman Makki, Ameer Hamza, and Mohammad Yahya Aziz. Notably, Saeed is already a UN-designated terrorist. The other terrorists who were booked are Malik Zafar Iqbal, Muhammad Naeem, Mohsin Bilal, Abdul Raqeeb, Dr. Ahmad Daud, Dr. Muhammad Ayub, Abdullah Ubaid, Muhammad Ali, and Abdul Ghaffar.
Few weeks ago, FATF slammed Pakistan over its inaction
To recall, Pakistan's failure to act against terrorism miffed Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In its latest Orlando plenary, the terror-watchdog asked Islamabad to implement all 27 points of its action plan by October. If Pakistan fails to take necessary action, it could be blacklisted. FATF has already placed Pakistan on its greylist and a demotion will adversely affect the country's already-struggling economy.
FATF ordered Pakistan to stop saving terrorists
FATF highlighted that Pakistan failed to take strong action against UN-designated terrorists. The latest crackdown on Saeed can be seen as a consequence of FATF's strong-worded statement. The body also wants Pakistan to freeze weapons stores and ammunition dumps. The country was also asked to implement sanctions against UN-listed terror entities. Further, FATF directed Pakistan to stop giving exemptions to terrorists.
