26/11 attack mastermind Lakhvi sentenced to 15 yrs in jail in Pak

Islamabad: Lashkar-e-Taiba top commander and key conspirator of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, has been sentenced for 15 years by a Pakistani court.

Earlier on January 2, Pakistan counter-terrorism authorities had arrested Lakhvi, on charges of terrorist financing.He was found guilty of extending financial help to terrorists through different umbrella businesses.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been instrumental in pushing Pakistan to take measures against terrorists roaming freely in Pakistan and using its territory to carry out attacks in India and elsewhere.

The Paris-based FATF placed Pakistan on the Grey List in June 2018 and asked Islamabad to implement a plan of action to curb money laundering and terror financing by the end of 2019 but the deadline was extended later on due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The FATF further decided to retain Pakistan on its 'grey list' till February 2021 as it failed to fulfill six key obligations, including failure to take action against two of India's most wanted terrorists Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.

In 2020, Saeed was sentenced for a collective imprisonment of 36 years on terror financing charges in four cases.

LeT commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was the mastermind behind the 26/11 attacks that claimed 166 lives and injured 300 others after coordinated shootouts and bombings orchestrated by the LeT terrorists for three days across India's financial capital. 

The terrorists who came from Pakistan to Mumbai via sea route targeted several locations-- Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station, Cama Hospital, Leopold Cafe, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident and Nariman house and the Nariman House business and residential complex.