Even after being recognised as a hotspot of terrorism, Pakistan continues to protect Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Sajid Mir through a maze of red herrings to escape the noose of FATF’s greylist, according to an independent Geo-politik blog.
“This duplicitous game came to light in July this year when the US found out that Pakistan had approached the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for Mutual Legal Assistance and not the US Department of Justice which had declared Mir as a global terrorist in 2011,” the Geo-politik blog stated.
Sajid Mir, one of India’s most wanted terrorists, is wanted for his involvement in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.
“Beginning on November 26, 2008, and continuing through November 29, 2008, ten attackers trained by the Pakistan-based foreign terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) carried out a series of coordinated attacks against multiple targets in Mumbai, including hotels, cafes, and a train station, killing approximately 170 people. Six Americans were killed during the three-day attacks,” the FBI website reads.
Mir reportedly served as the chief planner of the attacks, directing preparations and reconnaissance, and was one of the Pakistan-based controllers during the attacks.
Shortly after the harrowing attack, CIA Station Chief met ISI Analysis Directorate Major General Akhtar and presented him with charts and communication intercepts that proved conclusively that the attack was carried out from Pakistan and had clear support from ISI.
“Akhtar denied any role in the attack. A similar stand was taken by General Ashfaq Kayani a few days later,” according to Geo-politik.
In the years that followed, Pakistan continued to deny any hand in the Mumbai attack. They even attempted to protect Sajid Mir’s identity, as well as his role, in the attack.
Earlier in April this year, Sajid Mir was quietly arrested in Punjab province and was awarded 15 years in jail term by a Pakistan court.
Mir, 44, was sentenced by an Anti-terrorism court in Lahore this month after convicting him in a terror-financing case. He was also fined Pkr 4,20,000 and is currently serving sentence in Kot Lakhpat jail, the Dawn newspaper reported citing a source.
His sentencing came as Pakistan is struggling to exit the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) terror-financing watchlist. Currently, Pakistan is on the ‘Grey List’ of the watchdog for not fulfilling the parameters to counter terrorism in the country.
Even last month, Pakistan’s all-weather friend China once again put a hold on a proposal moved at the United Nations by the US and co-supported by India to designate Sajid Mir as a “global terrorist.”
The US moved the proposal and co-designated by India to blacklist Mir under the 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council as a global terrorist.
It is the third time that China has blocked an India-US proposal in recent months after Abdul Rehman Makki, LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) leader as well as Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JEM) chief Masood Azhar was protected by Beijing.