Terror financing case: Hafiz Saeed pleads not guilty
LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed on Tuesday pleaded “not guilty” in two terror financing cases against him. The Jamaat-ud-dawah (JUD) chief recorded his statement in a Pakistani anti-terrorism court.
The counter-terrorism department had registered 23 FIRS against Saeed and his accomplices on charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province and arrested him on July 17. He is held at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.
“In response to a questionnaire handed over to him by the Anti-terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore regarding terror financing charges against him, Saeed on Tuesday submitted his reply in which he dismissed all charges against him. He pleaded not guilty,” a court official told PTI after the in-camera hearing.
The official said the ATC adjourned the hearing till Wednesday for final arguments.
Saeed was produced at the ATC under tight security. Journalists were not allowed to enter the court premises.
‘AILING’ SHARIF’S UK HOTEL PIC GOES VIRAL
A photo purportedly showing former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif at a London restaurant along with some family members has gone viral on social media, leading the ruling party to cast aspersions over the “serious nature” of his health.
Sharif, 69, left for London on November 19 in an air ambulance to seek medical treatment, a month after he was released on bail from a seven-year prison sentence for corruption. The PML-N supremo is undergoing treatment of multiple diseases including coronary artery disease. The photo leaked on Monday showed Nawaz Sharif (with his back to the camera), PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif, his son Salman and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.
Science minister Fawad Chaudhry uploaded the photo on his Twitter account and wrote: “In London’s intensive care unit, the treatment against plundering is underway and all patients present (there) are feeling better.” The photo was reportedly discussed at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, the Dawn newspaper reported.
HEAVY SNOWFALL, RAIN CLAIM 84 LIVES
Avalanches and landslides triggered by heavy snowfall and incessant rain across Pakistan have left at least 84 people, including women and children, dead, and destroyed many houses, officials said on Tuesday. Harsh weather conditions continue across Pakistan over the last three days, bringing normal life to a halt.