Pak court hands over questionnaire to Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed in terror financing case

A questionnaire was handed over to Hafiz Saeed by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Friday which is hearing a terror financing case against the Mumbai terror attack mastermind and JuD chief.

Saeed's lawyers -- Naseeruddin Nayyar and Muhammad Imran Fazal Gul -- did not present any defence witnesses before the court, a court official said.

"Deputy Prosecution General Abdur Rauf submitted the questionnaire for Hafiz Saeed in the Anti-Terrorism Court-I, Lahore here on Friday which was handed over to him (Saeed) for reply," the official told PTI after the hearing in terror financing case against the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and his three close aides.

The court adjourned the hearing till Saturday.

The content of the questionnaire was not known.

Handing over a questionnaire to a prime suspect in the terror financing case seems weird, a lawyer said.

"Why not Saeed was asked to record his statement in the court? Handing over a questionnaire regarding terror financing to Saeed means that the Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab police, which arrested him, was not allowed to quiz him," the lawyer said.

Saeed and his aides -- Hafiz Abdul Salam, Muhammad Ashraf and Prof Zafar Iqbal -- were produced to the court in high security.

On Thursday cross examination of prosecution witnesses against Saeed and others concluded during which the prosecution had produced a number of witnesses.

The ATC indicted Saeed and others on December 11 in terror financing case.

The Counter Terrorism Department has registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province and arrested him on July 17.

He is being held at the high-security Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.

Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the LeT which carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.