Pakistan must prosecute LeT top operatives, chief Hafiz Saeed: US

Pakistan must prevent militant groups from operating on its soil and prosecute top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives along with its leader Hafiz Saeed, the US has said ahead of the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) crucial decision on whether to blacklist the country.

Alice Wells, head of the US state department's South and Central Asian Bureau, also welcomed the arrest of the top four leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan. Pakistan's law enforcement agencies on Thursday arrested the "top four leaders" of the banned LeT/JuD on charges of terrorism financing, a move that authorities say would put the "entire core leadership" of these outfits on trial. The top four leaders of LeT arrested on Thursday have been identified as Professor Zafar Iqbal, Yahya Aziz, Muhammad Ashraf, and Abdul Salam.

"As Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, Pakistan, for its own future, must prevent militant groups from operating on its soil. We welcome news that Pakistan arrested 4 LeT leaders. The victims of LeT's vicious attacks deserve to see these individuals prosecuted now, along with LeT leader Hafiz Saeed," Wells said in a tweet. 

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The arrests came ahead of the FATF crucial meeting in Paris scheduled from October 12 to October 15, which was decide the fate of the neighbor country. Pakistan was placed on the grey list by the Paris-based watchdog in June last year and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019 or face the risk of being placed on the blacklist with Iran and North Korea.

Last month, Wells had asked Islamabad to prosecute UN-designated terrorists Hafiz Saeed and JeM chief Masood Azhar, asserting that the de-escalation of India-Pakistan tensions is contingent to Islamabad's seriousness against terrorist outfits.  Alice Wells, US Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia said that Pakistan needs to take action against those engaging in 'cross-border infiltration' saying, "I think what we would like to see are the conditions whereby India and Pakistan can have a constructive conversation that leads to an improvement of relations between the two nuclear powers." 

LeT chief Hafiz Saeed

The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The US, since 2012, has been offering a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice. Hafiz Saeed-led LeT is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. 

The UN-designated terrorist, Hafiz Saeed was arrested in connection with the terrorism financing case on July 17 while he was traveling within Pakistan, from Lahore to Guhranwala. Pakistan had reached out to the UN Security Council requesting the world body to allow the globally designated terrorist, Hafiz Saeed, to access his frozen bank account to cover 'basic living expenses.' 

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(With PTI inputs)