SRINAGAR, India, July 6 (Reuters) – India’s anti-terrorism agency said it filed charges on Monday against Hafiz Saeed, founder of Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), over an attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir last year that triggered a conflict with Pakistan.
- New Delhi had said the perpetrators of the attack, which killed 26 men, were Pakistani nationals backed by Islamabad, but Pakistan denied involvement and sought an independent probe.
- Last July, Indian forces killed three militants it said were Pakistanis involved in the attack.
- India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) in December charged LeT, its offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF), and six individuals over the incident.
- TRF had initially claimed responsibility for the attack before denying it days later.
- Saeed is charged in his individual capacity, and as the chief of both groups, NIA said on Monday.
- The charges filed against him include “details of Pakistan’s conspiracy”, Saeed’s role, and supporting evidence collected through scientific investigation and on-ground examination, it said.
- Pakistan’s foreign and interior ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
- Saeed founded LeT around 1990 and has led the group and its successor organisations since. He is also blamed for the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed over three days.
- He has been in a Pakistani prison since being convicted in 2020 on terrorism financing charges.