Islamabad: Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, head of the dreaded terrorist organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba will have to be jailed for the next 31 years as the Anti-Terrorism Court in Pakistan on Friday sentenced him to 31 years imprisonment in two separate cases.

The man who has been blamed for plotting the Mumbai terror attack and is a known global terrorist has also been fined a total of Rs 340,000. As per reports, the court further ordered the confiscation of all his assets, including a Mosque and madrasa that Saeed had built.

In one case, Saeed has been sentenced to 16-and-a-half years, while in another, he has been sentenced to 15-and-a-half years of imprisonment. Saeed has been under arrest since 2019 and so far, seven cases have been filed against him.

The statements of witnesses were cross-examined by Naseeruddin Nayyar and Mohammad Imran Fazal Gul, Advocates of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and others. Earlier in two cases, Saeed was sentenced to 11 years in prison. A total of 41 cases have been registered in other cities.

Pakistan has been under immense international and internal pressure to prove to the world that it is acting against terrorist groups operating out of its territory. Besides, it also fears being black-listed by the Financial Action Task Force, the global watchdog for terror funding and money laundering related issues. 

It may be noted that India had been demanding tough action against the mastermind and asking the Pakistan government to seize the properties of the terrorist organization.

Despite the evidence given by India, Pakistan however has been refuting. On the contrary, Pakistan has been accused of protesting such terrorist leaders and harbouring the terror outfits.

Pakistan is giving safe haven to the terrorist leaders and their organizations that have been targeting India frequently through its trained militants.