Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed convicted by Pak court
This is the first time that Hafiz Saeed, who was arrested last year, has been convicted in a terror case
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed has been convicted in two terror financing cases and sentenced to five years jail, news agency ANI reported on Wednesday.
This is the first time that Hafiz Saeed, who was arrested last year, has been convicted in a terror case.
Reports of Hafiz Saeed's conviction comes right ahead of a crucial meeting of the anti-terror financing body, Financial Action Task Force, that will decide Pakistan's listing colour code.
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Islamabad, which has been trying to get off FATF's grey list, has been trying to persuade the international community that it was serious about curbing terror financing.
The "grey list" acknowledges that Pakistan is a country where terrorist groups can carry out activities and raise funds, a label that makes foreign investment and loans from global financial institutions difficult.
Hafiz Saeed, a hardline cleric accused by the US and India of orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has been a well-known, albeit shadowy, figure in Pakistan since the 2000s.
According to the BBC, Saeed founded the LeT in the 1990s; when it was banned, the revival of Jamaat-ud-Dawa wal-Irshad — a much older organisation — was witnessed in 2002 when it was renamed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).
Though the JuD leader insists his organisation has worked for Islamic welfare, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters, the United States has maintained that the group is a front for militant activities.
