Hafiz Saeed faces 23 terror cases in Pakistan. (Reuters)
26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed has been convicted by a Pakistan court in terror financing cases and sent to jail for five years, according to reports.
Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba and chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, was sentenced in two terror financing cases, reports news agency PTI. An anti-terrorism court sentenced him to five and a half years and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 in each case. The jail terms in both cases will run concurrently.
Hafiz Saeed was found guilty of "being part of a banned terrorist outfit" and for "having illegal property", his lawyer Imran Gill told news agency AFP.
Hafiz Saeed was banned by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008 in which 166 people were killed.
He faces 23 terror cases in Pakistan. Despite India's dossier of terror cases against him, he was allowed to roam freely in Pakistan and address anti-India rallies with impunity.
Pakistan had filed terror charges against Hafiz Saeed following sustained international pressure. He was charged with multiple offences of terror financing and money laundering in a First Information Report filed by the Counter Terrorism Department of Pakistan's Punjab Police.
In 2017, Hafiz Saeed and his four aides were detained by the Pakistan government under terror laws. But they were released after nearly 11 months when the Judicial Review Board of Punjab refused to extend their confinement further.