Terror funding case: Pakistani court indicts Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed

The banned terror outfit Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD)'s chief was indicted for using shell organizations for the purpose of terror funding by anti-terror court Gujranwala.

Saeed, who is wanted in India for several terror attack cases, pleaded not guilty in connection with the matter.

This is Saeed's third known Indictment in the 11 cases that were registered against him on 3 July 2019 by the country's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), reported Sputnik news agency.

The court found enough evidence against the JuD chief to indict him under the 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act, reported the news agency.

The case has been adjourned by the court till Saturday.

Saeed remained under house arrest for months.

The major indictment of the Mumbai attack mastermind occurred ahead of a meeting of world financial watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) early next year when a decision might be taken on whether it is needed to blacklist Pakistan for its failure to curb terror financing.

The US government had earlier placed a 10 million bounty on his head.

Meanwhile, hinting in what might be an outcome of a divide within terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hafiz Saeed's son Talha Saeed recently escaped an assassination attempt in a bombing incident close to Pakistan's Lahore city.

At least seven other Lashkar supporters were critically injured and one died in the attack, sources told Indian news portal Firstpost.

The bombing occurred at a religious meeting at the Jamia Masjid Ali-o-Murtaza on Muhammad Ali Road in Lahore’s Township neighbourhood, reported the portal. Pakistan had earlier described it as an accidental gas cylinder explosion, reported the portal in an exclusive article.