The United Nations has provided updated information stating that Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack and leader of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, is in the custody of the Pakistan government and is serving a 78-year imprisonment sentence. Saeed was designated as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council’s Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee in December 2008.
As per the UN Sanctions Committee, Saeed has been in the custody of the Government of Pakistan since February 12, 2020, following his conviction in seven terror financing cases. The updated information includes Saeed's address as House No. 116E, Mohalla Johar, Lahore, Tehsil, Lahore City, Lahore District, Pakistan, as of May 2008.
In December, India had requested Pakistan to extradite Hafiz Saeed, who is wanted in connection with several terror cases. The Security Council's 1267 Committee made amendments to certain entries on its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List, providing updated details through a press release on the UN website.
The Sanctions Committee also confirmed the death of Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi, a founding member of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and deputy to Saeed. Bhuttavi, who played a significant role in training attackers for the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, died in a prison in Pakistan's Punjab province in May last year while serving a sentence for terror financing.
Additionally, the committee confirmed the death of Maulana Fazlullah, commander of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), on June 13, 2018. Fazlullah led the TTP from November 2013 and was active in Pakistan's northwest valley of Swat from 2007 to 2009.
The leader of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, following the death of Maulana Fazlullah, is identified as Pakistani national Noor Wali Mehsud. His address is listed as Paktika Province in Afghanistan as of November 26, 2022.
Regarding the Al Rashid Trust, associated with Jaish-i-Mohammed, the amended information suggests that the organization is "reportedly defunct," and there is "no indication of any activity" under the name of Al-Rashid Trust as of November 2023. The trust had been involved in financing Al-Qaida and the Taliban until October 2008.
(With Agency Inputs)
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