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Mumbai terror attack 'mastermind' arrested in Pakistan, tweets Trump

Mumbai terror attack 'mastermind' arrested in Pakistan, tweets Trump

Hafiz Saeed

After Pakistan authorities arrested Hafiz Saeed on terror financingcharges, US President Trump tweeted, saying that after a ten-year search, the so-called “mastermind” of the Mumbai terror attacks has been arrested in Pakistan".

"Great pressure has been exerted over the last two years to find him!" Trump added.

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India blames Saeed for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 166 people were killed including several Americans. On Wednesday, Saeed was arrested near the town of Gujranwala in central Pakistan.

"The main charge is that he is gathering funds for banned outfits, which is illegal," Punjabgovernor spokesman Shahbaz Gillsaid.

Saeed denied all charges.

The Punjab counter-terrorism department said that Saeed had been arrested while going to a court in Gujranwala to seek pre-arrest bail but was remanded in custody.

The anti-terror court in Lahore had earlier granted interim pre-arrest bail to the Jamat-ud-Dawa(JuD) chief.

Saeed was declared a global terrorist by the UNSC recently after a long, protracted battle by India at the UN body, a move which was consistently blocked by China. The US had declared a $10 million reward for capturing the Pakistan-based terrorist.

The arrest of the JuD chief comes just months ahead of Pakistan's probable blacklisting at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which had slammed the Imran Khan-led government for not doing enough to stop money laundering and terror financing in the country.

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