An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced 2008 Mumbai terror attack conspirator Sajid Majeed Mir to over 15 years in prison in a terrorism financing case. Pakistan had earlier declared Sajid Majeed Mir dead. Sajid Mir is included in the list of India’s most wanted terrorists for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks. America has also placed a reward of 5 million dollars on him.
The move comes at a time when Pakistan is struggling to get out of the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The Anti-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab Police, which often informs the media about the conviction of suspects in such cases, did not report the conviction of Sajid Majeed Mir.
A senior lawyer associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa leaders said on Friday that earlier this month an anti-terrorism court in Lahore had arrested an activist of banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in a terrorism financing case. Sajid Majeed Mir was sentenced to 15 and a half years in jail.
According to the lawyer, since it was an in-camera hearing in a high-security prison, the media was not allowed. The lawyer said that Sajid Majeed Mir has been lodged in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail since his arrest in April. He said that the court has also imposed a fine of more than four lakh rupees on Sajid Majeed Mir.
According to a report published by Pakistan’s daily newspaper Dawn on Saturday, the sentence of Sajid Majeed Mir is related to the assessment of the FATF. Pakistani authorities have cited the conviction and sentencing of Sajid as one of Islamabad’s major achievements in a recent progress report on the action plan submitted to the FATF. Before the last FATF meeting, Pakistan told the agency that it had arrested and prosecuted Sajid Mir. Pakistan did this to get out of the gray list of FATF.
Sajid is included in the list of India’s most wanted terrorists for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks. America has also placed a reward of 5 million dollars on him. The move comes at a time when Pakistan is struggling to get out of the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).