Examiner Bureau | Jammu:
A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Hafiz Saeed, the Pakistan-based chief of the proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), in connection with the ongoing investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack.
The order was passed by the Special Judge of the NIA Court on July 8, two days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a supplementary chargesheet against Saeed in the case.
Saeed, who has been designated a global terrorist by India and the United States, is also accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
The supplementary chargesheet, filed before the Special NIA Court in Jammu, names the 76-year-old Saeed both in his personal capacity and as the chief of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy outfit, The Resistance Front (TRF). He has been charged under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
According to the court order, the NIA informed the court that Saeed, a resident of Sargodha in Pakistan’s Punjab province, has been deliberately evading arrest despite being an accused in the Pahalgam terror attack case. The agency sought an open-dated non-bailable warrant to facilitate further legal proceedings and enable action against him during the course of the investigation.
“Arrest and custodial interrogation of the accused (Saeed) are necessary for a fair, complete and effective investigation. As such, a non-bailable warrant of arrest is issued against him and forwarded to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), NIA Jammu, for execution in accordance with law,” the court order stated.
The Pahalgam terror attack took place on April 22, when terrorists opened fire on civilians, killing 26 people, most of them tourists, in south Kashmir.
