Govt designates Hafiz Saeed’s son a terrorist

NEW DELHI: Hafiz Talha Saeed, son of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, has been designated as a terrorist by the Indian government under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Talha Saeed, 46, a resident of Lahore, is head of the cleric wing of the banned terror outfit, which is responsible for several deadly attacks in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people were killed.

Talha Saeed has been actively involved in recruitment, fund collection, planning and executing attacks by the LeT in India and Indian interests in Afghanistan, the home ministry said in a notifiIn cation issued on Friday night. He has been visiting LeT centres across Pakistan and propagating jihad against India, Israel, the US and Indian interests in other Western countries, the notification said.

“The central government believes that Hafiz Talha Saeed is involved in terrorism and he should be notified as a terrorist under the said UAPA,” it said.

the past three years, the Centre has designated 32 people as individual terrorists, including Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, LeT co-founder Zaki Ur Rehman Lakhvi, underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and US-based Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), who has been spearheading a campaign under the banner of Referendum 2020 for a separate Khalistani state.

The Centre has the power to designate a person as an individual terrorist under the fourth schedule of the UAPA, if it believes that he or she is involved in terrorism. “Once a person is designated as individual terrorist, agencies such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) can put an embargo on arms, funds and seize the assets of such persons,” a government official said, requesting anonymity.

Talha Saeed’s designation as a terrorist comes on the day his father was sentenced for 32 years by a Pakistani court in two terror financing cases.

“Talha Saeed has played an important role in LeT. His handling of finances and the cleric wing underlines the fact that Hafiz Saeed runs the LeT as his family business. And with a Pakistan court now sentencing Hafiz Saeed for 32 years, it is obvious that Talha Saeed would have taken up a bigger role in the decision making,” internal security analyst Sameer Patil said.

“This designation under UAPA will bring him in the spotlight, and his activities will be kept in check.”

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed