ATC convicts 3 JuD leaders in terror financing cases

Lawbreakers managed assets of proscribed organisation, helped in raising funds

LAHORE:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday convicted three leaders of a proscribed organisation, Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), in two separate terror financing cases.

The court handed down 16-year imprisonment to Haji Muhammad Ashraf with Rs170,000 fine in FIR No 89, registered and investigated by Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Multan in 2019.

The court awarded a one year imprisonment with Rs20,000 fine to Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki in the same case.

The court also handed down 16-and-a-half-year imprisonment to Malik Zafar Iqbal with Rs170,000 fine in FIR No 90, registered and investigated by CTD, Multan in 2019.

ATC-III Judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar conducted the case proceedings and handed down imprisonment on proving charges.

The CTD Multan had registered the cases against the convicts under section 11-N of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

It was alleged that the convicts committed terror financing by managing assets of a proscribed organisation, and helped in raising funds.

It is pertinent to mention that the CTD had registered 23 cases against the leadership of proscribed organisations - JuD, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation - for making assets from terror financing.

The leaders booked in terrorism financing cases include: Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Abdul Rehman Makki, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Ameer Hamza, Muhammad Yahya Aziz, Muhammad Naeem, Mohsin Bilal, Abdul Raqeeb, Dr Ahmad Daud, Dr Muhammad Ayub, Abdullah Ubaid, Muhammad Ali, Abdul Ghaffar and others.

The cases were registered in Lahore, Gujranwala and Multan on July 1-2, 2019 over collection of funds for terror financing through assets/properties made and held in the names of trusts/non-profit organisations (NPOs), including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust, Maaz-Bin-Jabal Educational Trust, Al-Hamd Trust and Al-Madina Foundation Trust.