New York [US]: In an update provided by the United Nations, it has been disclosed that Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is currently in Pakistani custody, serving a 78-year prison sentence. The information was included in the recent amendments made by the Security Council Committee, which manages lists of individuals and organizations subject to travel bans, arms embargoes, and asset freezes. Saeed has been incarcerated since February 12, 2020, following his conviction in seven terror financing cases.
The UN Security Council Committee's narrative summary, available since March 9, 2009, and updated on December 19, 2023, cites Hafiz Muhammad Saeed's association with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Al-Qaida as the reason for his listing. The Committee, in accordance with resolutions, provides a detailed account of the reasons for the listing of individuals involved with ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida.
Hafiz Saeed, the leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has played a pivotal role in the operational and fundraising activities of the terrorist organization. Despite India's extradition request in December, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, clarified that no bilateral extradition treaty exists between the two countries. The request pertains to a "so-called money laundering case."
Addressing the matter, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson emphasized Saeed's status as a UN-proscribed terrorist and reiterated India's request for his extradition to face trial. Hafiz Saeed, designated as a terrorist by the UN Security Council in December 2008, has been in jail since July 17, 2019, for various charges. He was sentenced in April 2022 to a 33-year jail term by a special anti-terrorism court in Lahore for "financing terrorism." Despite being a designated terrorist for nearly two decades, Saeed was neither charged nor extradited.
—Input from Agencies
