Non-bailable warrant against Hafiz Saeed paves way for Pahalgam attack trial in absentia

Pakistan-based Lashkar chief played role in planning, monitoring last year’s terror attack that left 26 dead, NIA says in supplementary chargesheet

The Special NIA Court in Jammu has issued a non-bailable warrant against Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed in the Pahalgam terror attack case.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had sought an “open-dated non-bailable warrant” against Saeed, a resident of Sargodha in Pakistan’s Punjab province, in connection with the case.

The warrant was issued by the Special Judge of the NIA Court on July 8, two days after the NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet against Saeed.

“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 is forwarded to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), NIA Jammu, for execution in accordance with law,” the court said in its order.

The court’s order paves the way for the initiation of a trial against Saeed in absentia.

In its supplementary chargesheet filed before the NIA court, the probe agency charged 76-year-old Saeed in both his personal capacity and as the chief of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit and its proxy front, the Resistance Front (TRF). He has been booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

In the supplementary chargesheet, the NIA specifically mentions Saeed’s role in planning and monitoring the terror attack, besides additional forensic evidence collected from the attack site.

Saeed, who has been designated a global terrorist by India and the United States, is also considered the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Last year, on April 22, terrorists gunned down 25 tourists and a local man in the Baisaran valley in J&K’s Pahalgam. In the first chargesheet filed in the case in December last year, three terrorists directly involved in the attack were named, including Suleiman, a top Lashkar militant commander from Pakistan. The three were killed in a joint operation by the military, the J&K Police and the CRPF in July last year.

The Special NIA Court in Jammu has issued a non-bailable warrant against Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed in the Pahalgam terror attack case.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had sought an “open-dated non-bailable warrant” against Saeed, a resident of Sargodha in Pakistan’s Punjab province, in connection with the case.

The warrant was issued by the Special Judge of the NIA Court on July 8, two days after the NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet against Saeed.

“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 is forwarded to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), NIA Jammu, for execution in accordance with law,” the court said in its order.

The court’s order paves the way for the initiation of a trial against Saeed in absentia.

In its supplementary chargesheet filed before the NIA court, the probe agency charged 76-year-old Saeed in both his personal capacity and as the chief of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit and its proxy front, the Resistance Front (TRF). He has been booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

In the supplementary chargesheet, the NIA specifically mentions Saeed’s role in planning and monitoring the terror attack, besides additional forensic evidence collected from the attack site.

Saeed, who has been designated a global terrorist by India and the United States, is also considered the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Last year, on April 22, terrorists gunned down 25 tourists and a local man in the Baisaran valley in J&K’s Pahalgam. In the first chargesheet filed in the case in December last year, three terrorists directly involved in the attack were named, including Suleiman, a top Lashkar militant commander from Pakistan. The three were killed in a joint operation by the military, the J&K Police and the CRPF in July last year.