Explained: What Hafiz Saeed’s latest sentencing by a Pakistan court means

Previously, Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks, was sentenced to 32 years in prison in connection with five other terror financing cases. Now, all his sentences will run concurrently.

In February 2020, he was convicted by a Pakistan court in two terror financing cases and was sentenced to five years in prison. Saeed and other leaders of his outfits were booked in July 2019 under the charges.

With pressure built up by the international community, Pakistan is investigating matters related to the operations and functioning of LeT and its charitable wing JuD and other branches in order to convince the Paris-based anti-terror watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), that it is taking substantial steps to keep a check on terror financing.

Who is Hafiz Saeed?

Saeed is the founder and leader of the terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Sunni group that follows the Ahle-Hadith interpretation of Islam. According to Stanford University’s Centre for International Security and Co-operation (CISC), the organisation was founded in 1990 and its goals include conducting Jihad in the way of Allah, preaching the true religion and training the new generation along true Islamic lines.

In an interview that Saeed gave to the BBC in 2014, he denied his involvement in the Mumbai attacks and called the evidence against him “just propaganda” by India. “The people of Pakistan know me and they love me. No-one has tried to approach the American authorities to get this bounty. My role is very clear, and God is protecting me,” he had told BBC.

Other attacks that the LeT has been involved in include the 2001 shootout at Parliament House in New Delhi and, most recently, the 2016 attack on the military headquarters in Uri.

In 2012, in order to support India in its attempt to extradite Saeed, the US State Department offered a bounty of up to $10 million for any information that could lead to his arrest or conviction. Moreover, the US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist since 2012.

In the past few years, Saeed has been arrested on multiple occasions. In January 2017, he was arrested by the Pakistani government in connection with raising funds for JuD, thereby violating UN sanctions. He was, however, released in November 2017 when the courts refused to extend the duration of his house arrest due to lack of evidence. Saeed was also arrested in July 2019 by Pakistani authorities on charges of terror financing. Since 2019, Saeed has been lodged in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.

What is the case against him?

Under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, Saeed along with other leaders of the JuD were booked in July 2019 in over two dozen cases for terror financing and money laundering registered by the state’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in Lahore, Gujranwala and Multan. In the 23 FIRs registered against Saeed and his accomplices, the charges included allegations that JuD was financing terrorism by collecting funds from various non-profit organisations and international Islamist charities including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust and Muaz Bin Jabal Trust among others.

Newsletter | Click to get the day’s best explainers in your inbox

According to CISC, LeT’s fundraising efforts are “diverse and systematic” and it is not uncommon to find donation boxes for the group in Pakistani markets. It adds that a type of fundraising method that is unique to LeT is collecting animal skins from religious sacrifices and subsequently selling them in tanneries. According to a report by Dawn, JuD earned over $1.2 million from the sale of hides in 2009. ISI and the Pakistani government help the LeT bring in funds, with the LeT believed to have fund-raising offices in Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and the Gulf region, as per CISC.

Why does his conviction matter?

Saeed was arrested by Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in July 2019 while he was travelling from Lahore to Gujranwala. His arrest came just days before Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was scheduled to visit the US to talk with then President Donald Trump, who admonished Pakistan for not doing enough to curb terrorism.

According to a report published in Dawn, prior to his arrest over 23 FIRs were registered against him and JuD leaders. Before his arrest, in February 2019 the FATF had warned Pakistan to deliver on its commitments to curb terror financing. Pakistan feared being a part of FATF’s “grey list”, which would raise the cost of financial transactions for the country. Nonetheless, the FATF placed Pakistan in the grey list in July 2018. Till today, Pakistan is on this list.