Pakistan Court Extends Hafiz Saeed's Judicial Custody For 14 days

An Anti-Terrorism Court in Pakistan has extended Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed's judicial remand for another 14 days.

Hafiz Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist, was travelling to Gujranwala from Lahore to get a pre-arrest bail in terror financing cases registered against him when he was arrested on July 17. On the same day, he was presented before the court that sent him to judicial custody for seven days.

The move came days before Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump.

Hafiz Saeed was again presented before the court today in Gujranwala that extended his judicial remand for another 14 days, Geo TV reported.

The court directed the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab Police to present a complete chargesheet against him by August 7.

The CTD on July 3 had registered 23 FIRs against 13 top leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) including Hafiz Saeed on charges of "terror financing" in different cities of Punjab province.

US President Donald Trump had hailed Hafiz Saeed's darrest last week and said it was a result of "great pressure" exerted by his administration on Pakistan in the last two years.

The US Department of the Treasury has designated Hafiz Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. He has been blamed for the terror attack on Mumbai on November 26, 2008, in which 166 people were killed. The US has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Hafiz Saeed's conviction over the 26/11 attacks.

Earlier this month, 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.