Curious case of Pakistan's Sajid Mir, mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai terror assaults | World News

"Needed: Useless or Alive" is the same old demand on the earth of crime anyplace. However the dwelling is said useless in Pakistan's world of criminals and terrorists. And if want be, the useless come alive, if the highly effective are to be placated.

That is the curious case of Sajid Mir, one of many masterminds of the 26/11 terror assaults in Mumbai, India, in 2008. Declared "untraceable" and "useless" for a very long time as a result of India wished him captured, tried and punished, he has "come alive", in a way of talking, and is quietly imprisoned for 15 years.

The explanations vary from placating the USA to reaching out to India for talks and commerce. However the rapid supposed achieve is convincing the fact-finding workforce of the Monetary Motion Process Drive (FATF) that's anticipated to make an on-site go to to Pakistan.

The FATF, it might be recalled, at its final convention in Berlin (June 17-18), resolved to take Pakistan off its "underneath watch" record, popularly often called the "gray" record, because it had fulfilled most, although not all, necessities of enacting legal guidelines and taking govt actions to get rid of money-laundering and selling terror financing by its businesses and banking establishments.It's however tentative.

Therefore, after preliminary rejoicing, when everybody fell over one another in taking credit score, the sober temper referred to as for clearing all tracks earlier than the arrival of the visiting FATF workforce.

For this reason, and the way, Sajid Majeed Mir has surfaced. Earlier than continuing additional it's fascinating to notice three recollects of the current previous.

Osama Bin Laden was "most likely useless, and undoubtedly not in Pakistan", in accordance with the now ailing and exiled navy ruler, Normal Pervez Musharraf.He would ridicule any discuss of Pakistan hiding Osama.

Until, lengthy after he was out of workplace and underneath home arrest in 2011, when the US Seals, the Particular Forces' commandos, situated him in a hideout in Abbottabad and eradicated him.

When requested, he sang the "sovereignty" music -- its violation by the US.Baitullah Mehsud of the Tehreek-e- Taliban Pakistan (TTP) backed the murderer who killed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. He was declared "untraceable", even "useless" in an encounter. However he surfaced in 2018 to disclaim any involvement.

Ehsanullah Ehsan, one other TTP chief and spokesman was behind the capturing of Malala Yusuf, the little woman who survived being flown to Britain. She ultimately grew to become the world's youngest Nobel Laureate. Ehsanullah even baited Malala to "return to Pakistan as soon as.

"Below prosecution, Ehsan escaped, after which surrendered following an "understanding" reached with one of many Pakistani intelligence outfits. When this didn't succeed, he escaped once more, merely took a flight together with the household, and fled to Turkey.Sajid Mir has now "come alive" and is in jail. An anti-terrorism courtroom in Pakistan awarded over 15 years jail time period in a terror-financing case to Mir.

"An anti-terrorism courtroom in Lahore early this month had handed down over 15 years jail time period to Sajid Majeed Mir, an activist of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), on a terror-financing case," a senior lawyer related to terror financing instances of LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawa leaders mentioned on June 24, 2022.

The Counter-Terrorism Division (CTD) of the Punjab Police, which frequently points convictions of the suspects in such instances to the media, didn't notify Mir's conviction in a terror-financing case. Moreover, because it was an in-camera continuing on the jail, the media was not allowed.

The lawyer additional mentioned convict Mir, who's in his mid-40s, has been within the Kot Lakhpat jail since his arrest this April. He mentioned the courtroom additionally imposed a wonderful of over PKR 400,000 on Mir. Pakistan informed the FATF on the Berlin convention that it had arrested and prosecuted Sajid Mir to facilitate removing from the FATF 'Gray record'.Sajid Mir has a bounty of USD 5 Million.

He was referred to as "challenge supervisor" of the Mumbai assaults. He had reportedly visited India in 2005 utilizing a faux passport with a faux identify. Mumbai terror assaults alleged mastermind and Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has already been sentenced to 68 years imprisonment in terror financing instances by the Lahore Anti Terrorism Court docket (ATC).

Mumbai assault "operation commander" Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi can be convicted to a number of years in jail. Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist on whom the US has positioned a USD 10 million bounty, was arrested in July 2019 within the terror financing instances.The jail sentence of Mir, after Hafiz Saeed and Lakhvi, comes as a part of the plan to placate FATF.

The arrest of Sajid Mir additionally has a diplomatic angle. The brand new authorities of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is eager on mending fences broken by its predecessor Imran Khan Authorities. The targets are the USA and up to some extent, India, ostensibly, underneath American persuasion.

The Sharif authorities is taking part in as much as Washington, in distinction to Imran Khan's anti-US marketing campaign that has intensified after being voted out of energy. Stories are that Islamabad desires to facilitate the US presence in Afghanistan that the latter needed to give up final August when the Taliban seized energy.

Islamabad started by sending ISI chief, Lieutenant Normal Nadeem Anjum to Washington. After the stage was set, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Overseas Minister within the Sharif Authorities, was within the US and shortly after, Bilawal started advocating the resumption of the ties with India, gone "chilly" within the final two years.

He talked of ties with India being of mutual curiosity, even in Pakistan's curiosity, however stopped in need of doing something concrete, even resuming bilateral commerce that he thinks would profit Pakistan extra. Mir's surfacing and imprisonment are to impress India, of fine intent of the Sharif Authorities.

However solely phrases have come forth.Pakistan has acted this fashion up to now as nicely, underneath Washington's persuasion.On this sport whereby wheels-within-wheels transfer, it might be secure to surmise that the subsequent gesture from Bilawal to India could come as soon as Washington helps clear the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) mortgage that Pakistan urgently requires.