Pakistan court convicts Mumbai suspect in terrorism case

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has sentenced Hafiz Saeed, accused by India of masterminding the 2008 attacks in the port Indian city of Mumbai, to 11 years  prison in a case related to terrorism financing, a government prosecutor and defense lawyer say.

Saeed was convicted and sentenced on two counts by a court in the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday. 

"The total punishment in both the cases was 11 years but he will serve five and a half years in jail as the two punishments will run concurrently," Saeed's lawyer Imran Gill said.

Abdul Rauf Watto, the government’s prosecutor in the case, confirmed the verdict.

"Hafiz Saeed and another of his close aides have been sentenced in two cases of terrorism financing," Watto said

Saeed was indicted in December last year on six charges under anti-terrorism laws, with verdicts still due in four cases.

Pakistan detains alleged mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks

Authorities in Pakistan arrest Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of a four-day massacre in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008.

The conviction of Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed more than 160 people, has been a long-standing demand of Pakistan's neighbor India.

Saeed has denied any involvement in the Mumbai attacks and says his network, which spans 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance services, has no ties to militant groups.

In 2017, Saeed was put under house arrest by Pakistani authorities and subsequently released after being cleared of charges against him, drawing strong criticism from New Delhi.

In recent months, the government also took over schools, mosques, seminaries and all properties linked to Saeed's charities and froze their assets.

Saeed's conviction comes days ahead of a key meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental watchdog that monitors terrorism and criminal financing laws, in Paris.

FATF will be issuing a decision on whether Pakistan has taken sufficient steps to avoid being "blacklisted", a designation that would come as a blow to the South Asian nation’s struggling economy.

A FATF blacklisting would put in place barriers that would serve to isolate Pakistan's economy from the international banking system, introducing stricter checks and safeguards on transactions involving the country. 

Pakistan moves to tackle rising food prices

In a separate development on Wednesday, Pakistan's government approved a hefty subsidy package in a bid to offset the spiraling costs of basic food staples.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s  finance advisor Hafeez Sheikh said the government had approved a five-month, 10 billion rupee ($64.8 million) package to alleviate the "soaring prices" of basic commodities, including food items such as wheat flour and sugar.

Under the package, some five million poorer Pakistanis would be able to buy discounted basics through the state-run Utility Stores Corporation (USC), which operates stores across the country.

The stores "will drastically bring down prices of at least 19 food items including wheat flour and sugar during the holy month of Ramadan" starting late April, Sheikh said.

The increasing food prices come as Pakistani farmers keep a wary eye on locust populations. Swarms of the insects have already attacked crops in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh.

Khan's opponents have seized on the food issue to attack administration of Permier Khan, who is about 18 months into his premiership.

Low tax yields and mounting debt, coupled with repeated devaluations of the rupee, soaring inflation and rising utility costs are driving discontent with Khan's administration.

The government says it has improved increasing fiscal and balance of payments deficits.

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