ATC sentences JuD chief Hafiz Saeed to 10 years of imprisonment

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Thursday sentenced the leader of the outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Hafiz Saeed to 10 years and six months of imprisonment for being involved in an illegal funding case.

The court has also fined Saeed with a hefty amount of Rs110,000 and ordered the confiscation of his properties. 

Last week, the ATC had sentenced three other JuD leaders to imprisonment, including Zafar Iqbal, Yahya Muhajid, and Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki for illegal funding. 

Malik Zafar Iqbal and Yahya Mujahid were ordered to spend 16 years in prison, while Makki was awarded a six-month imprisonment sentence. 

Earlier this year, the ATC had announced a collective punishment of 11 years and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on the JuD chief for being part of a banned terrorist outfit and for having illegal property.

Read more: The Hafiz Saeed I know

He was given five years and six months in each case and the court had stated that both the sentences would begin concurrently.

The cases against the JuD chief were led by Deputy Prosecutor General Abdul Rauf Watto, while around 23 witnesses recorded their statements in the cases.

In July last year, Saeed was arrested by Punjab's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) while he was travelling to Gujranwala from Lahore to appear before an anti-terrorism court to seek pre-arrest bail.