Mumbai attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was on Friday (January 8) sentenced by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court to 15 years in prison on charges of terror financing.
UN proscribed terrorist Lakhvi, 61, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province last Saturday.
"The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore convicted Lakhvi for commission of offences of terrorism financing in a case registered by the CTD for 15 years under different section of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997," a court official told PTI after the hearing.
Judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar sentenced Lakhvi to five years of rigorous imprisonment each on three counts with a fine of PKR 100,000 each on three counts. "In default of payment of fine, he will have to undergo an imprisonment of six months each on three counts. He has been sent to prison to serve the sentences," the official said.
Lakhvi pleaded before the court that he was "falsely implicated" in this case.
Lakhvi, operations commander of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, was named as a global terrorist by the United Nations under the UNSC resolution in 2008 after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
During the Mumbai attacks investigation, it was revealed that Lakhvi had prepared a full plan for the terror attack under the orders of Hafiz Saeed.
The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on November 26 and lasted until November 29. At least 174 people died, including 9 attackers, and more than 300 were wounded.
The foremost ringleader of the attacks, Lakhvi, was released on bail in April 2015, following which he had disappeared.
(With inputs from PTI)
