Terror financing, money-laundering: Hafiz Saeed, 12 others indicted

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court Wednesday indicted the chief of the banned Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) Hafiz Saeed, Naib Ameer Abdul Rehman Makki and 11 other JuD leaders, accused of terror financing and money-laundering.

The officials produced Hafiz Saeed with deputy JuD chief Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, Hafiz Abdul Salam bin Mohammad, Mohammad Yahya Aziz, Malik Zafar Iqbal and others before the court of ATC Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta.

As the hearing commenced, ATC Deputy Prosecutor Abdul Rauf Wattoo implored the court to frame charges against the accused. However, Naseeruddin Nayyer counsel of the accused Jud leaders opposed the motion of the state prosecutor. The counsel argued that his clients have been nominated in false case under international pressure. He argued that the counter-terrorism department has nominated his clients without substantive evidence.

The counsel reiterated the claim of banned JuD leaders saying that his clients have been nominated in cases by wrongly attributing them as leaders of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). His clients had already quit the LeT before the organisation was banned in 2002, counsel argued. The counsel further argued that cases against his clients have been made on the basis of a link to defunct Al-Anfaal Trust which was formed to construct mosques in the country.

After the arguments of counsel of the banned JuD leaders, the judge asked JuD leadership whether they accept charges levelled against them in the challan submitted by the CTD against them, the JuD leaders categorically denied all the allegations and pleaded innocent. The court after hearing the accused indicted them in the case and asked the prosecution to produce state witnesses before the court today (Thursday) for regular trial proceedings. The court has also directed the home department to submit some original record of the case on the next hearing.

It is pertinent to mention that trial of terror financing case will take place on daily basis. As per case details, on July 3, the top 13 leaders of the JuD were booked in two dozen cases for terror financing and money-laundering under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997. The counterterrorism department (CTD), which registered the cases in five cities of Punjab, declared that the JuD was financing terrorism from the massive funds collected through non-profit organisations and trusts including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust, Muaz bin Jabal Trust, etc. Furthermore, the CTD during detailed investigations found that they had links with the JuD and its top leadership, accused of financing terrorism by building huge assets/properties from the collected funds in Pakistan. These non-profit organisations were banned in April.

Later, on July 17, Hafiz Saeed was arrested from Gujranwala on charges of terror financing by the Punjab CTD. He was sent to prison on judicial remand after the CTD presented him before a Gujranwala ATC. Besides the top two JuD leaders, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Ameer Hamza, Mohammad Yahya Aziz, Mohammad Naeem, Mohsin Bilal, Abdul Raqeeb, Dr Ahmad Daud, Dr Muhammad Ayub, Abdullah Ubaid, Mohammad Ali and Abdul Ghaffar were also booked in the cases.