Hafiz Saeed, Mumbai terror attack mastermind, arrested, sent to judicial custody
Lahore, Jul 17: Mumbai terror attack mastermind and chief of the banned JuD Hafiz Saeed was arrested Wednesday by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Pakistan's Punjab Province and sent to jail on judicial remand, officials said.
Saeed, who has several cases pending against him was travelling to Gujranwala from Lahore to appear before an anti-terrorism court when he was arrested, officials said.
He has been sent to the high-security Kot Lakhpat Jail here on judicial remand, officials said.
Saeed-led Jamatud Dawa is believed to be the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
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.
Under pressure from the international community, Pakistani authorities have launched investigations into matters of the LeT, JuD and its charity wing the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) regarding their holding and use of trusts to raise funds for terrorism financing.
Saeed's arrest comes after the CTD, in a crackdown against terror financing, registered 23 cases against the JuD chief and his 12 aides for using five trusts to funnel funds to terror suspects.
On Monday, the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore had granted pre-arrest bail to the JuD chief and three others in a case pertaining to the outfit's alleged illegal use of land for its seminary.
ATC Judge Javed Iqbal Warriach granted pre-arrest bail to Saeed and his three aides - Hafiz Masood, Ameer Hamza and Malik Zafar - until August 3 against the surety bonds of Rs 50,000 each.
On July 3, top 13 leaders of the banned JuD, including Saeed and Naib Emir Abdul Rehman Makki, were booked in nearly two dozen cases for terror financing and money laundering under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997
The CTD had registered an FIR against Saeed and others for illegally grabbing a piece of land in Lahore and setting up a seminary.
According to officials, JuD's network includes 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance service.
In March, Punjab police said that government seized control of 160 seminaries, 32 schools, two colleges, four hospitals, 178 ambulances and 153 dispensaries associated with the JuD and its charity wing FIF in the province.
At least 56 seminaries and facilities being run by the JuD and FIF in southern Sindh province were also taken over by authorities in the same month.
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Top leaders of INDIA bloc will scramble for PM's post if it comes to power: Amit Shah
Jhanjarpur (Bihar), Apr 29: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday warned that a victory of the opposition INDIA bloc, “even by mistake”, will lead to a scramble among top leaders of the alliance for the prime minister’s post.
Shah claimed that leaders like M K Stalin, Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad and Mamata Banerjee may agree to a year each of premiership, by turns, and “Rahul baba (Rahul Gandhi) will have to settle for whatever is left of the tenure”.
In contrast, he said, “a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead to elimination of corruption from the entire country, including Bihar, and eradication of casteism in the state”.
“Modi’s return to power is certain. But, suppose, even by mistake, if the INDIA alliance comes to power, what will happen? Who will be the prime minister? Will it be Stalin, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee or Rahul Gandhi? They will all settle for sharing the top post for a year each. Is it how the country can be run?” Shah said.
The senior BJP leader, who addressed election rallies in Jhanjharpur and Begusarai Lok Sabha constituencies of Bihar, also charged the opposition bloc with seeking restoration of triple talaq.
"Should we have triple talaq? INDI alliance leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Prasad say they will protect Muslim Personal Law. They should forget their plans. The BJP government will implement a Uniform Civil Code across the country,” Shah asserted.
Claiming that Modi’s victory and a third term in office were certain, he also cautioned against "political instability" that may follow if the INDIA coalition manages to form a government “even by mistake”.
"We need a leadership that is strong and not helpless. If the INDIA alliance comes to power... M K Stalin, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, Lalu Prasad, all of them may become PM for a year each. Rahul baba will settle for whatever is left of the tenure,” Shah said.
The home minister, who is often credited with abrogation of Article 370, also accused the Congress and its allies with having protected special status to Jammu and Kashmir like an "auras Putra” (one's own offspring).
"Rahul Gandhi had tried to scare us by claiming that scrapping Article 370 will cause rivers of blood to flow. But, when the Modi government made the move, nobody even dared to throw a pebble,” said Shah.
Slamming Gandhi for his “new-found concern for OBCs”, the home minister said “the Congress party has always been against the Other Backward Classes. It had opposed the Mandal Commission. Modi has emerged from among the OBCs and the community has been empowered during his tenure as never before”.
He also showered encomiums on Modi for abrogation of Article 370 and strong counter-terrorism steps like surgical strikes in contrast with the previous Congress-led UPA regime, “when for 10 years, terrorists struck at will”.
Attacking the opposition for alleging misuse of central agencies, Shah said, “Should there be no action against the corrupt? Whoever is found guilty of swindling money meant for the poor people of the country, must be in jail”.
He also said the opposition camp had neither leaders nor resolve, alleging “Sonia Gandhi’s sole concern is making her son the prime minister, while Lalu Prasad wants to make his son the chief minister of Bihar”.
Shah alleged that the Congress and the RJD supremo did not give due respect to former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur, but the BJP recognised his contribution and conferred the Bharat Ratna on him.
In Begusarai, where Union minister Giriraj Singh seeks to retain the seat for BJP, Shah mockingly referred to main rival CPI as "laal bhai" and urged the people to vote for the sitting MP "in huge numbers so that the next time they do not muster the courage to enter the fray".
