Lashkar-e-Taiba Militant's Conviction And Sentencing Led FATF To Clear Pakistan: Report

Lashkar-e-Taiba Militant's Conviction And Sentencing Led FATF To Clear Pakistan: Report
The conviction and sentencing to 15 years in jail of banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant Sajid Majeed Mir, who was allegedly involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is said to be one of the crucial factors that led to Pakistan being cleared by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

An anti-terrorism court in Lahore sentenced 44-year-old Mir, who is alleged to be the architect of the 2008 Mumbai Attacks, to 15 and a half years in jail earlier this month. The court convicted him in a terror financing case, and also imposed a fine of Rs 420,000, according to a report by Dawn.

The verdict around the high-profile case was given discreetly, resulting in barely any media coverage, apart from a headline in a small newspaper. Mir was apparently detained in late April, which was once again kept away from media attention.

Previously, Pakistani authorities had asserted that Mir had 'died', however under pressure from Western countries to show proof of his death, the case for Mir's arrest moved forward as it became one of the crucial aspects of the FATF action plans.

His conviction and sentencing were shown to the FATF as proof of Pakistan's commitment to the action plans, and were considered major achievements.

According to FATF’s June 2022 plenary outcomes, “Pakistan demonstrated that terror financing investigations and prosecutions target senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups and that there is a positive upwards trend in the number of money laundering investigations and prosecutions being pursued in Pakistan, in line with Pakistan’s risk profile."