Pakistani authorities on Wednesday detained the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks as the nation faces increased pressure to crack down on militants operating on its soil.
The arrest of Hafiz Saeed was welcomed by US President Donald Trump, who next week is to host Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan during his maiden visit to the White House.
“After a ten year search, the so-called ‘mastermind’ of the Mumbai Terror attacks has been arrested in Pakistan,” Trump wrote. “Great pressure has been exerted over the last two years to find him!”
Saeed — declared a terrorist by the US and the UN, and who had a US$10 million US bounty on his head — has in fact never been missing, but has instead for years rotated in and out of detention in Pakistan, sometimes under house arrest, sometimes briefly arrested then released by authorities.
His latest arrest was carried out in eastern Pakistan by counterterrorism forces, a security official with knowledge of the arrest said.
“Hafiz Saeed was going to Gujranwala to apply for bail in another case when he was arrested,” said the official, who requested anonymity.
Another security official said the arrest relates to terror financing charges.
A spokesman for Saeed’s group, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a wing of the militant organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, confirmed the arrest, but gave no further details.
Saeed has spent most of him time outside of jail and moves around Pakistan at will.
That has enraged India, which has repeatedly called for Saeed’s prosecution over his alleged role in the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed more than 160 people.
Lashkar-e-Taiba is accused by India and Washington of masterminding the four-day assault. Saeed has denied involvement.
“The victims of terrorist attacks deserve justice,” US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Alice Wells wrote on Twitter, calling for Saeed’s “full and expeditious prosecution.”
Since taking office in 2017, Trump has frequently singled out Islamabad for failing to rein in extremists and being an unfaithful partner in the fight against militants.
Khan’s visit to Washington is seen as an opportunity for mending the acrimonious relationship between the two nations.
Even before the Mumbai attacks, Washington and New Delhi had urged Pakistan to take action against Lashkar-e-Taiba.
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