Authorities in Pakistan have arrested Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or Army of the Pure, the militant group blamed by the United States and India for a four-day attack on Mumbai in 2008, Geo Television said on Wednesday.

 

A spokesman for Jammaat ud-Dawa (JuD), a charity run by Saeed, said counter-terrorism officials arrested Saeed while he was on his way to the central Pakistan town of Gujranwala. The charges he faces are still unknown but appear to be linked to terrorism financing, the spokesman added. </s> Pakistan authorities on Wednesday arrested Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of a four-day militant attack on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, on terror finance charges, a spokesman for the chief minister of Punjab said.

The move came days before a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has vowed to crack down on militant groups operating in Pakistan.

Saeed, designated a terrorist by the United States, is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or Army of the Pure, the militant group blamed by the United States and India for the Mumbai attacks, which killed more than 160 people.

He 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.

A spokesman for Punjab Governor Shahbaz Gill said Saeed was arrested near the town of Gujranwala in central Pakistan. </s> FILE – In this Friday, Oct. 26, 2018 file photo, Hafiz Saeed, founder of Pakistani religious group Jamaat-ud-Dawa addresses an anti-Indian rally in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistani authorities say they have arrested Saeed, a radical cleric and U.S.-wanted terror suspect blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, just days ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s trip to Washington. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File)

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan on Wednesday arrested a radical cleric and U.S.-wanted terror suspect implicated in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, officials said, just days ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s trip to Washington.

Hafiz Saeed was taken into custody in Punjab province while traveling from the eastern city of Lahore to the city of Gujranwala, according to counterterrorism official Mohammad Shafiq.

Saeed founded the Lashkar-e-Taiba group, which was blamed for the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. His charity organizations, Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat, are alleged fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The United States has offered a $10 million reward for Saeed’s arrest and Washington recently stepped up pressure on Islamabad to crack down on terror groups.

In response, Pakistan registered over a dozen cases against Saeed and several of his associates, accusing them of funding militant groups through charities and leading to Wednesday’s arrest.

“After a ten year search, the so-called “mastermind” of the Mumbai Terror attacks has been arrested in Pakistan,” President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday. “Great pressure has been exerted over the last two years to find him!”

Prime Minister Imran Khan was to leave for Washington over the weekend on his first official visit to the United States as premier.

After his arrest, Saeed was taken before a judge and was ordered held in jail until the next hearing on Tuesday, Shafiq said. The cleric had been en route to Gujranwala to post bail in the terror financing case but was detained before he could do so.

In Pakistan, a suspect can be free on bail pending investigation and trial.

Saeed’s spokesman Nadim Awan denounced the arrest and said the cleric had dissociated himself from Lashker-e-Taiba in 2001 and has had no links with the organization since then. Lashker-e-Taiba was banned in 2002.

Awan said they would challenge Saeed’s arrest before a higher court.

Until the terror financing case, Saeed had for months lived freely in Pakistan, often addressing anti-India rallies for which he became popular amid a dramatic confrontation between the two nuclear-armed rivals earlier this year.

Saeed’s two charities were banned in February last year, and the government froze their assets in compliance with a U.N. request. Pakistan’s Supreme Court last September allowed them to resume operations only to be banned again earlier this year under a government action plan against terrorism and extremism.

Previously, Saeed had been detained several times, along with some of his close aides, but had not been charged or put on trial.

He was taken into custody in January last year and kept under house arrest for 11 months until a court order ended his detention in November. He was also detained in 2001 and 2008, when he was kept confined to a government-run house and at his home.

In recent months, the government also took over schools, mosques, seminaries and all properties linked to Saeed’s charities and froze their assets.

Pakistan is currently on the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list, denoting its status as a haven for money laundering. It has until October to avoid black listing.

Associated Press writers Zaheer Babar in Lahore, Pakistan; Zarar Khan in Karachi, Pakistan and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report. </s> Pakistan authorities on Wednesday arrested Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of a four-day militant attack on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, on terror finance charges, a spokesman for the chief minister of Punjab said.

The move came days before a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has vowed to crack down on militant groups operating in Pakistan.

Saeed, designated a terrorist by the United States, is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or Army of the Pure, the militant group blamed by the United States and India for the Mumbai attacks, which killed more than 160 people.

He 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.

A spokesman for Punjab Governor Shahbaz Gill said Saeed was arrested near the town of Gujranwala in central Pakistan.

“The main charge is that he is gathering funds for banned outfits, which is illegal,” the spokesman said.

Pakistan, which is included on the so-called “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force, a money laundering and terror finance watchdog, has been under increasing pressure to stop the financing of militant groups.

The United States has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Saeed’s conviction over the Mumbai attacks. </s> Pakistan on Wednesday arrested a radical cleric and U.S.-wanted terror suspect implicated in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, officials said, just days ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s trip to Washington.

READ MORE: Pakistan plans to seize charities run by Islamist leader Hafiz Saeed

Hafiz Saeed was taken into custody in Punjab province while traveling from the eastern city of Lahore to the city of Gujranwala, according to counterterrorism official Mohammad Shafiq.

Saeed founded the Lashkar-e-Taiba group, which was blamed for the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. His charity organizations, Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat, are alleged fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The United States has offered a $10 million reward for Saeed’s arrest and Washington recently stepped up pressure on Islamabad to crack down on terror groups.

READ MORE: White House issues warning to Pakistan over release of militant suspect

In response, Pakistan registered over a dozen cases against Saeed and several of his associates, accusing them of funding militant groups through charities and leading to Wednesday’s arrest.

“After a ten year search, the so-called ‘mastermind’ of the Mumbai Terror attacks has been arrested in Pakistan,” President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday. “Great pressure has been exerted over the last two years to find him!”

Prime Minister Imran Khan was to leave for Washington over the weekend on his first official visit to the United States as premier.

After his arrest, Saeed was taken before a judge and was ordered held in jail until the next hearing on Tuesday, Shafiq said. The cleric had been en route to Gujranwala to post bail in the terror financing case but was detained before he could do so.

In Pakistan, a suspect can be free on bail pending investigation and trial.

READ MORE: As global pressure mounts, Pakistan promises to take action against terrorist groups

Saeed’s spokesman Nadim Awan denounced the arrest and said the cleric had dissociated himself from Lashker-e-Taiba in 2001 and has had no links with the organization since then. Lashker-e-Taiba was banned in 2002.

Awan said they would challenge Saeed’s arrest before a higher court.

Until the terror financing case, Saeed had for months lived freely in Pakistan, often addressing anti-India rallies for which he became popular amid a dramatic confrontation between the two nuclear-armed rivals earlier this year.

READ MORE: Video shows far-right extremist setting himself on fire while firebombing U.K. synagogue

Saeed’s two charities were banned in February last year, and the government froze their assets in compliance with a UN request. Pakistan’s Supreme Court last September allowed them to resume operations only to be banned again earlier this year under a government action plan against terrorism and extremism.

Previously, Saeed had been detained several times, along with some of his close aides, but had not been charged or put on trial.

He was taken into custody in January last year and kept under house arrest for 11 months until a court order ended his detention in November. He was also detained in 2001 and 2008, when he was kept confined to a government-run house and at his home.

In recent months, the government also took over schools, mosques, seminaries and all properties linked to Saeed’s charities and froze their assets.

Pakistan is currently on the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list, denoting its status as a haven for money laundering. It has until October to avoid black listing. </s> ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan on Monday ordered Hafiz Saeed, accused by the United States and India of masterminding the 2008 attacks on the Indian financial capital Mumbai that killed 166 people, placed under house arrest, a spokesman for Saeed's organization said.

The move comes after years of pressure on Pakistan to put Saeed on trial and could ease recently escalating tensions with neighbor and arch-foe India.

The United States has offered $10 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Saeed, who heads Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). U.S. officials say JuD is a front for the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

"A large police team arrived (at JuD headquarters) and told us that Hafiz would be placed under house arrest," Nadeem Awan, Secretary of Information for JuD, told Reuters.

Awan said the police tole them they had an arrest warrant for Saeed and five others at JuD headquarters in the eastern city of Lahore.

India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Saeed has repeatedly denied involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Saeed's continued freedom has been a source of continuing friction between nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India as well as the United States.

Awan said the Pakistani government had been under pressure from the United States to take action against Saeed or face sanctions.

"This government has buckled under the pressure," Awan said. </s> LAHORE: Pakistan authorities on Wednesday (Jul 17) arrested Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of a four-day militant attack on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, on terror finance charges, a spokesman for the chief minister of Punjab province said.

The arrest came days before a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has vowed to crack down on militant groups operating in Pakistan.

Saeed, designated a terrorist by the United States and the United Nations, is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or Army of the Pure, the militant group blamed by the United States and India for the Mumbai attacks, which killed more than 160 people.

He 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.

A spokesman for Punjab Governor Shahbaz Gill said Saeed was arrested near the town of Gujranwala in central Pakistan.

"The main charge is that he is gathering funds for banned outfits, which is illegal," the spokesman said.

The Punjab Counter Terrorism Department said in a statement that Saeed had been arrested while going to a court in Gujranwala to seek pre-arrest bail but was remanded in custody.

Pakistan, which is included on a so-called grey list compiled by the Financial Action Task Force, a money laundering and terror finance watchdog, has been under increasing pressure to stop the financing of militant groups.

However, an Indian government official said that merely arresting Saeed was not enough and that he should be put on trial and convicted.

"We want real action, not these kinds of steps that are reversible. One court orders his arrest, another frees him," said the official, who has close knowledge of diplomatic issues with Pakistan.

He said the sense in New Delhi was that Pakistan was taking steps such as these before Khan's trip to the United States, which has offered a US$10 million reward for information leading to Saeed's conviction over the Mumbai attacks.

"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.

Lashkar-e-Taiba, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department, aims to drive India out of the disputed region of Kashmir and establish an Islamic state across Kashmir, Pakistan, and India. </s> Pakistani authorities Wednesday detained the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, a security official said, as the country faces increased pressure to crack down on militants operating on its soil.

Firebrand cleric Hafiz Saeed — declared a global terrorist by the US and UN, and who has a $10 million US bounty on his head — was taken into custody following a raid by counter-terrorism forces in the eastern city of Gujranwala.

“Hafiz Saeed was going to Gujranwala to apply for bail in another case when he was arrested,” said a security official with knowledge of the arrest, who requested anonymity.

A spokesman for Saeed’s group, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), a wing of the militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), confirmed the arrest to AFP, but gave no further details.

Saeed has spent years rotating in and out of varying forms of detention, sometimes under house arrest, sometimes briefly arrested then released again by authorities.

But for the most part he has been free to move at will around Pakistan, enraging India which has repeatedly called for his prosecution over his alleged role in the 2008 attack that killed more than 160 people.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is accused by India and Washington of masterminding the four-day assault on Mumbai. Saeed has denied involvement.

The move against Saeed comes as Pakistan is facing a potential blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — an anti-money-laundering monitor based in Paris — for failing to do enough to combat terror financing.

FATF is set rule on its fate in the coming months after placing the country on a watchlist last year.

In February, Pakistani authorities banned Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation — charities that have long been considered fronts for militant activity targeting India.

Washington and New Delhi have long urged Pakistan to take action against LeT, which was banned by Islamabad in 2002 but re-branded itself as JuD and FIF.

And earlier this year, Pakistan arrested more than 100 suspected militants and shuttered hundreds of religious schools.

The arrests came during an ongoing crackdown on extremists, following clashes with India after a Pakistan-based group killed dozens of Indian security forces in a suicide bombing in Kashmir. </s> LAHORE, Pakistan, July 17 (Reuters) - Pakistan authorities on Wednesday arrested Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of a four-day militant attack on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, on terror finance charges, a spokesman for the chief minister of Punjab said.

The move came days before a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has vowed to crack down on militant groups operating in Pakistan.

Saeed, designated a terrorist by the United States, is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or Army of the Pure, the militant group blamed by the United States and India for the Mumbai attacks, which killed more than 160 people.

He 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.

A spokesman for Punjab Governor Shahbaz Gill said Saeed was arrested near the town of Gujranwala in central Pakistan.

"The main charge is that he is gathering funds for banned outfits, which is illegal," the spokesman said.

Pakistan, which is included on the so-called "grey list" of the Financial Action Task Force, a money laundering and terror finance watchdog, has been under increasing pressure to stop the financing of militant groups.

However an Indian government official said that merely arresting Saeed was not enough and that he should be put on trial and convicted.

"We want real action, not these kind of steps that are reversible. One court orders his arrest, another frees him," said the official, who has close knowledge of diplomatic issues with Pakistan.

He said the sense in New Delhi was that Pakistan was taking steps such as these before Khan's trip to the United States, which has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Saeed´s conviction over the Mumbai attacks.

"We have seen this before," the official said. "After the visit is over, things are usually back to what they were before." (Additional reporting by Sanjeev Miglani in NEW DELHI Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Nick Macfie)
Pakistan arrests Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been blamed by the United States and India for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that left more than 160 people dead.