Pakistan officials have arrested the alleged mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks and founder of the banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Hafiz Saeed on Wednesday.
Saeed was arrested by Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials while on his way from Lahore to Gujranwala, Pakistan’s Dawn reported.
Saeed was presented before Gujranwala anti-terrorism court (ATC) and was sent to prison on judicial remand for his alleged involvement in funding terrorism.
Saeed who has a $10 m USD bounty on his head is accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed more than 160 people.
File photo: The Taj Mahal hotel burns during gun battle between Indian military and militants inside the hotel in Mumbai, India. Source: AAP Image/AP Photo/David Guttenfelder
US President Donald Trump without naming Saeed said after ‘great pressure’ the so-called ‘mastermind’ has been arrested.
Saeed has denied any involvement and said his network, which includes 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance services, has no ties to militant groups.
'We want real action': India
India is however sceptical. An Indian government official with close knowledge of diplomatic issues with Pakistan told Reuters Islamabad needed to do more than just arrest Saeed.
“We want real action, not these kinds of steps that are reversible. One court orders his arrest, another frees him,” said the official.
He said the sense in New Delhi was that Pakistan was taking steps such as these before Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s trip to the United States who has been told to crack down on militant groups operating in Pakistan.
“We have seen this before,” the official said. “After the visit is over, things are usually back to what they were before.”
In 2017, Saeed was put under house arrest by Pakistani authorities and subsequently released after being cleared of charges against him, drawing strong criticism from Washington and New Delhi.
