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Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
(Urdu: حافظ محمد سعید)
Born (1950-03-10) 10 March 1950 (age 74)
Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan
NationalityPakistani
OccupationLeader of jama'at-ud-da'wah,
Years active2001– present
Organization(s)Jama'at-ud-Da'wah
Lashkar-e-Taiba

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (Urdu: حافظ محمد سعید; born 1948 ) is an internationally designated terrorist and the chief or amir of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah,[1][2][3] which operates mainly from Pakistan and has had sanctions placed against it as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations. He is influential in certain religious groups.[4] There have been protests against the US bounty on Hafiz Saeed [5] as they claim that he is inciting Kashmaris in separatist activities. He has challenged that India will be forced to Kashmir just like US in Afghanistan.[6] Hafiz Saeed, blame India for Peshawar carnage,[7] in which 141 martyred, 124 injured.[8] But India claims that his organisation is banned as a terrorist organisation, the United States,[9] the United Kingdom,[10] the European Union,[11] Russia[12] and Australia.[13] India considers him one of its most wanted terrorists because of his alleged ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba and its involvement in attacks against India,[14] and Saeed is listed on the NIA Most Wanted list. The United Nations declared Jama'at-ud-Da'wah a terrorist organisation in December 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader.[15] In April 2012, the United States announced a bounty of $10 million on Hafiz Saeed, for his alleged role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.[16][17] Since 2008, various Indian politicians have demanded that Saeed be handed over but there is no extradition treaty between the two countries.[18][19]

Hafiz Saeed pleaded innocence and claimed that he has no links with LeT and that India has no evidence and no real proof behind their allegations.[20][21] Pakistani officials said that Saeed was helping in identification and rehabilitation of former militants.[22] Currently, he lives in Lahore, Pakistan in a "fortified house, office and mosque" that is guarded by Pakistani police and his supporters.[23] He gives interviews to Western media, including the New York Times newspaper.[23]

Background

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In 1950, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was born in a Gujjar family in Sargodha, Punjab.[24][25] As told by his father, Kamal-ud-Din, a farmer, in the fall of 1947, his family started migrating from Haryana and reached Pakistan in around four months. His family lost 36 of its members when migrating from Hisar,Haryana to Lahore during the Partition of India.[25] He is married and his wife's name is Maimoona.[26]

General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq appointed Hafiz Muhammad Saeed to the Council on Islamic Ideology, and he later served as an Islamic Studies teacher at the University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan.[25] He was sent to Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s by the university for higher studies where he met Saudi Sheikhs who were taking part in the Afghan jihad.[citation needed] They inspired him to join his colleague, Professor Zafar Iqbal, in taking an active role[citation needed] supporting the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. There he met some youth who later became his companions.[citation needed]

In 1987, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, along with Abdullah Azzam, founded Markaz Dawa-Wal-Irshad, a group with roots in the Jamait Ahl-e-Hadis.[14][25]

This organisation spawned the jihadist group Lashkar-e-Taiba in 1990,[25] with the help of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence officers.[27]

Lashkar's primary target is the disputed Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.[28] He is also quoted as saying, "There cannot be any peace while India remains intact. Cut them, cut them so much that they kneel before you and ask for mercy."[29] Hafiz Muhammad Saeed holds two master's degrees from the University of Punjab and a specialisation in Islamic Studies and Arabic Language from King Saud University.[30] his grandfather whose name was hari prasad is a hindu converted muslim from a village in haryana.

Activities

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1994

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In 1994, Saeed visited the United States and "spoke at Islamic centers in Houston, Chicago and Boston".[23]

2001–2002

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Pakistan detained Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. on 21 December 2001 in relation to Indian accusations of his involvement with the 13 December 2001 attack on the Lok Sabha. He was held until 31 March 2002, arrested again on 15 May, and was placed under house arrest on 31 October of the same year.[26]

2006

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After the July 11, 2006 Mumbai train bombings, the provincial government of Punjab, Pakistan arrested him on 9 August 2006 and kept him under house arrest but he was released on 28 August 2006 after a Lahore High Court order. He was arrested again on the same day by the provincial government and was kept in the Canal Rest House in Sheikhupura. He was finally released after the Lahore High Court order on 17 October 2006.[31][32]

2008–2009

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After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, India submitted a formal request to the U.N. Security Council to put the group Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed on the list of individuals and organisations sanctioned by the United Nations for association with terrorism.[23] India has accused the organisation and its leader, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, of being virtually interchangeable with Lashkar-e-Taiba. India said that the close links between the organisations, as well as the 2,500 offices and 11 seminaries that Jamaat-ud-Dawa maintains in Pakistan, "are of immediate concern with regard to their efforts to mobilize and orchestrate terrorist activities."[33] On 10 December 2008, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed denied a link between LeT and JuD in an interview with Pakistan's Geo television stating that "no Lashkar-e-Taiba man is in Jamaat-ud-Dawa and I have never been a chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba."[20]

On 11 December 2008, Hafiz Muhammed Saeed was again placed under house arrest when the United Nations declared Jamaat-ud-Dawa to be an LeT front.[34] Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was held in house arrest under the Maintenance of Public Order law, which allows authorities to detain temporarily individuals deemed likely to create disorder,[34] until early June 2009 when the Lahore High Court, deeming the containment to be unconstitutional, ordered Hafiz Muhammad Saeed to be released.[35] India quickly expressed its disappointment with the decision.[35]

On 6 July 2009, the Pakistani government filed an appeal of the court's decision. Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar told the Associated Press that "Hafiz Saeed at liberty is a security threat."[36]

On 25 August 2009, Interpol issued a Red corner notice against Hafiz Saeed, along with Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi, in response to Indian requests for his extradition.[37]

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was again placed under house arrest by the Pakistani authorities in September 2009.[38]

On 12 October 2009, the Lahore High Court quashed all cases against Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and set him free. The court also notified that Jama'at-ud-Da'wah is not a banned organisation and can work freely in Pakistan. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, one of two judges hearing the case, observed "In the name of terrorism we cannot brutalise the law."[39]

Indian attempts at extradition

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On 11 May 2011, in an effort to place pressure on Pakistan, India publicly revealed a list of its 50 most wanted fugitives hiding in Pakistan.[40] India believes Hafiz Saeed is a fugitive, but the Indian arrest warrant had no influence in Pakistan and presently has no effect on Saeed's movements within Pakistan. Following the Lahore High Court ruling, Saeed has been moving freely around the country. For many years, India has demanded that Saeed be handed over but there is no extradition treaty between the two countries.[18]

Declaration as a terrorist by the United States

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The United States declared two Lashkar-e-Tayyiba leaders – Nazir Ahmad Chaudhry and Muhammad Hussein Gill – specially designated global terrorists. The State Department also maintained LeT's designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and added the following aliases to its listing of LeT: Jama’at-ud-Dawa, Al-Anfal Trust, Tehrik-i-Hurmat-i-Rasool, and Tehrik-i-Tahafuz Qibla Awwal. The Department of Treasury said that LeT was responsible for the November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai which killed nearly 200 people. The group’s leader is Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who is listed under UN Security Council Resolution 1267.[41]

Cooperation with Islamabad

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In keeping with Pakistani establishment's wishes, Lashkar has been keeping focus on India and Saeed is among those who are thought to have helped Pakistan in capturing important al-Qaeda members like Abu Zubaydah.[34] Senior Pakistani officials have said that Saeed is helping in de-radicalization and rehabilitation of former extremists and that security is being provided to him because he could be targeted by militants who disapprove of Saeed's co-operation with Islamabad.[22]

US bounty

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In April 2012, the United States announced a bounty of $10 million US Dollars on Hafeez Saeed, for his role in 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.[16][17] Saeed stated that he had nothing to do with the Mumbai attacks[23] and condemned them. When asked about the bounty Saeed replied, "I am living my life in the open and the US can contact me whenever they want."[42] He subsequently stated that he is ready to face "any American court" to answer the charges and added that if Washington wants to contact him they know where he is. "This is a laughable, absurd announcement. Here I am in front of everyone, not hiding in a cave," he said in a press conference.[43] Saeed identified his leading role in the Difa-e-Pakistan council and US attempts to placate India as reasons behind the bounty.[44][45]

Views

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Pakistani Government

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Hafiz Saeed has criticised Pakistani leaders and has stated that they should aspire to be more like British Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson. He had declared his admiration for the British Conservative Party along with several Tory MPs when he lodged a petition to the Lahore High Court calling for public officials in Pakistan to tone down their privileged lifestyles. According to The Daily Telegraph, Saeed wrote in the petition that while Pakistan's political elite were 'living like kings and princes in palatial government houses,' Britain's prime minister lived in a 'four-bedroom flat.' He added, 'When the sun never set on the British Empire, the chief executive of that great country lived in the same house of a few marlas in a small street. That is truly Islamic, that is like following the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet.'[46]

Indian Government

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In January 2013, India's then Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's released a statement on the alleged existence of Hindu terrorism as well as the existence of Hindu terror camps on Indian soil, being run and organised by the BJP and the RSS.[47] As a result, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa welcomed Shinde's statements and congratulated him for admitting the existence of Hindu terrorism.[48] Hafiz Saeed demanded that the United States take serious notice of this statement by the Indian home minister regarding Hindu terrorist camps in India. "The US should now carry out drone attacks on these terror camps in India," Saeed said.

In September 2014, Saeed blamed India for "Water Terrorism".[49] Though there was flood crisis in India too, Saeed blamed India for flood crisis in Pakistan.[50] In several tweets on social media he said, "Indian gov discharged water in rivers without notification & has given false information; an act of open mischief," "India has used water to attack Pakistan, We are in state of War. India's water aggression must be taken to the UN security council."[51][52][53][54][55][56]

Responding to a question about the nuclear warning issued by Indian authorities in Jammu and Kashmir after the 2013 India–Pakistan border incidents, Saeed said that in case of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan, India should rather distribute nuclear safety pamphlets in Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta rather than in Kashmir.[57]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Amjad Mahmood. "Footprints: JuD's show of strength". Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  2. ^ "BBC News - US puts $10m bounty on Lashkar-e-Taiba's Hafiz Saeed". BBC News. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  3. ^ "Jamaat-ud-Dawah website-Organization".
  4. ^ "UN declares Jamaat-ud-Dawa a terrorist front group - The Long War Journal". Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  5. ^ http://www.cnbcpakistan.com/Thousands-protest-against-US-bounty-on-Hafiz-Saeed-news-2027.html
  6. ^ "India will be forced to Kashmir just like US in Afghanistan: Hafiz Saeed". Pakistan Defence. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  7. ^ "Hafiz Saeed, Musharraf blame India for Peshawar carnage". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Peshawar school carnage: 141 martyred, 124 injured". The News International, Pakistan. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  9. ^ USA redesignates Pakistan-based terror groups The Tribune
  10. ^ "Lashkar-e-Toiba". South Asia Terrorism Portal. Archived from the original on 24 May 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008. It is also a banned organization in Britain since March 30, 2001.
  11. ^ "Council Decision of 22 December 2003". Eur-lex. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  12. ^ Terror list out Arab Times
  13. ^ Australian National Security, Listing of Terrorism Organisations[dead link‍] Attorney-General's Department
  14. ^ a b India's most wanted. Vol. 19. Frontline. 2002. ISBN 0-06-621063-1. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  15. ^ Roggio, Bill (11 December 2008). "UN declares Jamaat-ud-Dawa a terrorist front group". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  16. ^ a b "India welcomes $10 million bounty on Hafiz Saeed". Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  17. ^ a b Daniel, Frank Jack (3 April 2012). "U.S. puts $10 million bounty on Pakistan militant; India pleased". Yahoo! News. Reuters. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  18. ^ a b Joshi, Sandeep (29 May 2012). "Pakistan relents on extradition treaty". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
  19. ^ The Times of India http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/keyword/hafiz-mohammed-saeed/featured/2. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ a b "Third Mumbai Terrorist Suspect Placed Under House Arrest; Charity a Front Group For Terrorist Organization". Fox News. 10 December 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  21. ^ "Jamaat chief rejects Indian charges". Al Jazeera English. Aljazeera IT. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  22. ^ a b Georgy, Michael (6 April 2012). "Exclusive: Pakistani with U.S. bounty said helping de-radicalize militants". Reuters. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  23. ^ a b c d e WALSH, DECLAN (7 February 2013). "Pakistani Militant, Price on Head, Lives in Open". The New York Times. p. 2/7/13 N.Y. Times A1. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  24. ^ "Noose tightens around Hafiz Saeed, LT and Jamaatud Daawa". Dailytimes.com.pk. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2010. [dead link‍]
  25. ^ a b c d e Swami, Praveen (9 December 2008). "Pakistan and the Lashkar's jihad in India". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
  26. ^ a b LHC seeks reply from Punjab, Centre, Dailytimes.com.pk, 11 December 2002.
  27. ^ Schmitt, Eric (7 December 2008). "Pakistan's Spies Aided Group Tied to Mumbai Siege". The New York Times.
  28. ^ Rahman, Maseeh; Jones, Sam (1 December 2008). "Rumours abound as inquiry begins its search for truth". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  29. ^ Roy, Arundhati (13 December 2008). "The Monster in the Mirror". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  30. ^ "Professor Hafiz Muhammad Saeed". PakistaniLeaders.com. 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  31. ^ "LHC orders release of Hafiz Saeed". Dawn. 18 October 2006.[dead link‍]
  32. ^ Subramanian, Nirupama (18 October 2006). "Court orders Hafiz Saeed's release". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
  33. ^ McFarquhar, Neil. India wants Pakistani group added to UN's terrorism list, The New York Times, 9 December 2008.
  34. ^ a b c Khan, M Ilyas (2 June 2009). "Profile: Hafiz Mohammad Saeed". Islamabad: BBC News. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  35. ^ a b "Pakistan releases 'top militant'". BBC News. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  36. ^ Shazad, Asif (6 July 2009). "Pakistan appeals ruling to release Mumbai suspect". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 July 2009.[dead link‍]
  37. ^ Gangadharan, Surya (27 August 2009). "Interpol notice against Saeed adds to Pak worries". IBN. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  38. ^ "Pakistan curbs on Mumbai accused". BBC News. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
  39. ^ Nadeem, Atif (13 October 2009). "LHC orders quashing of FIRs against Hafiz Saeed". The News. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
  40. ^ "ISI's major Iqbal, LeT chief Saeed in India's most-wanted list". The Economic Times. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  41. ^ Anwar Iqbal. "US puts two LeT leaders on global terrorists list". Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  42. ^ "Hafiz Saeed responds to US bounty". The News International, Pakistan. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  43. ^ "Pakistan militant taunts US over $10m bounty". ABC News. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  44. ^ "Hafiz Saeed rejects US terrorism accusations". Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  45. ^ Habib, Nasir (5 April 2012). "Pakistan wants to see 'concrete evidence' on suspect sought by U.S." CNN. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  46. ^ "No such thing as bad publicity? Boris and Dave get a ringing endorsement... from one of the world's most feared terrorists". Daily Mail. London.
  47. ^ "BJP to hold nationwide protest against Shinde's Hindu terror camps remark". IBNLive. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  48. ^ "LeT, JuD have congratulated Sushilkumar Shinde for his claims on Hindu terror: RSS". DNA. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  49. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hafiz-Saeed-blames-India-for-Pakistan-floods-calls-it-water-terrorism/articleshow/42116443.cms
  50. ^ http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-hafiz-saeed-blames-india-for-flood-in-pakistan-accuses-narendra-modi-government-of-water-terrorism-2017381
  51. ^ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/hafiz-saeed-jamat-ud-dawah-india-jammu-and-kashmir-floods/1/381979.html
  52. ^ http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-hafiz-saeed-blames-india-for-flood-in-pakistan-accuses-narendra-modi-government-of-water-terrorism-2017381
  53. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hafiz-Saeed-blames-India-for-Pakistan-floods-calls-it-water-terrorism/articleshow/42116443.cms
  54. ^ http://www.abplive.in/World/2014/09/09/article395679.ece/Hafiz-Saeed-blames-water-terrorism-by-India-for-Kashmir-floods
  55. ^ http://www.firstpost.com/india/jud-chief-hafiz-saeed-says-india-flooded-pakistan-alleges-water-terrorism-1706265.html
  56. ^ http://defence.pk/threads/hafiz-saeed-alleges-india-of-‘water-terrorism’.333372/
  57. ^ "'Friendly advice': Hafiz Saeed 'advises' Shahrukh Khan to move to Pakistan". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
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