Talha Saeed, the son of Hafiz Saeed – mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks – on Friday was labelled as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the Union ministry of home affairs. In a gazette notification shared by the Union ministry the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief’s son was said that he remains involved in terror-related activities.
“Central Government believes that Hafiz Talha Saeed is involved in terrorism and Hafiz Talha Saeed should be notified as a terrorist under the said Act… Talha Saeed has been actively involved in recruitment, fund collection, planning and executing attacks by LeT in India and Indian interests in Afghanistan,” the notification said. It further added that Hafiz Saeed’s son visited various LeT centres across Pakistan and in his speeches propagated jihad against India, Israel, United States of America and Indian interests in other western countries.
Talha Saeed, according to a report by news agency Indian Express, serves as Lashkar-e-Taiba’s second-in-command. The 47-year-old terrorist is also responsible for managing LeT’s finances. He is also the head of the clerical wing of the LeT, a proscribed terror organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Earlier in 2019, News18 reported that Talha Saeed escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb blasted inside a refrigerator shop in Lahore. Saeed was addressing a rally not very far from the location. Seven Lashkar supporters were injured and one supporter died.
Talha Saeed, according to the 2019 report, faced dissent in the LeT due to father-son duopoly in the terrorist organisation. The senior leadership was unhappy wasn Hafiz handed main responsibilities to Talha.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, in August 2019 was amended to designate individuals as terrorists. Following the amendment, the Indian government designated Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)’s Masood Azhar and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim as terrorists.
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