Sajid Mir

Sajid Mir Sajid Majid (born 1976) is a Pakistani national from Lahore and a member of the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, was the chief planner of the 2008 Mumbai attacks|terrorist attacks in Mumbai, in 2008.[1][2] Sajid also managed the tasks of the 'foreign affairs' of Lashkar-e-Taiba's international wing.[3]

Sajid Mir was initially believed to be a fictitious character as claimed by Pakistan,[4][5] but French magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière's statement to journalist Sebastian Rotella confirmed that Sajid Mir is not a fictitious character.[6][7] Jean-Louis Bruguiere, in 2009, claimed that Sajid Mir is a regular official in the Pakistan Army.[8]

## Contents

* 1 Early life
* 2 Militancy
* 3 Arrest and conviction
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Early life[edit]

Sajid Mir was born to a middle-class family in Lahore. His father Abdul Majid, who runs a textile business, went to Lahore during the Partition of India|India-Pakistan partition. Sajid is a son-in-law of a retired officer of the Pakistan Army.[9]

## Militancy[edit]

Sajid was associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed in 1994, and got early access to Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.[10] Sajid Mir, having the protection of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), also planned terror attacks in the United States, France, and Australia.[11]

Sajid recruited David Headley Gilani for the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack and assisted to visit Mumbai prior to the attacks.[12] After the terror attack, the Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI listed Sajid Mir as the most wanted terrorist for aiding and abetting, bombing places of public use, providing material support to terrorists, injuring foreign government property, killing citizens outside the United States, and other terrorist activities. Sajid has a bounty of US $5 million as declared by the FBI.[13][14] In 2012, Zabiuddin Ansari|Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari revealed in interrogation that Sajid Mir had visited India in 2005 with a fake name and passport under the cricket diplomacy to watch the India-Pakistan One Day International|ODI Cricket match at Mohali. Ansari further revealed that after visiting several places in India, Sajid Mir prepared Taj Mahal Palace Hotel miniature model to train the attackers familiar with the hotel.[15]

Sajid Mir also recruited Willie Brigitte, a French national who was converted to Islam and joined Lashkar-e-Taiba, and funded him to travel to Australia in May 2003. In October, 2003, Brigitte was arrested by Sydney police and deported to France, where in 2007, he was convicted and sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment for the charge of 'associating with terrorists',[16][17] and Sajid Mir was also sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment.[18] Brigitte, who used to train Lashkar members, confessed that Sajid Mir was well known by the Pakistan Army and Sajid never had any issue roaming in the Pakistan Army's areas.[19]

In 2020, India sought extradition of Sajid Mir, but Pakistan did not respond.[20]

## Arrest and conviction[edit]

Pakistan earlier denied Sajid's presence in their country, and later claimed Sajid Mir was dead, but in 2022, Pakistan arrested him.[21][22] An anti-terrorism court in Lahore convicted Sajid Mir and sentenced him to 15 years of imprisonment with a fine of Pakistani Rs 4,20,000 in a terror financing case. Pakistan reported to the global terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that they have arrested and convicted Sajid Mir and sought removal of Pakistan from the 'Grey list' of the FATF.[23]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Verma, Bharat (2013). Indian Defence Review Apr-Jun 2012. Vol. 27\. New Delhi: Lancer. p. 26\. ISBN 978-81-7062-259-8.
2. ↑ United States; Congress; House; Committee on Homeland Security; Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence (2012). The threat to the U.S. homeland emanating from Pakistan : hearing before the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, first session, May 3, 2011. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O. p. 26\. ISBN 978-0-16-090504-9. OCLC 1225698406.
3. ↑ Rath, Saroj Kumar (2014). Fragile Frontiers : The Secret History of Mumbai Terror Attacks. New Delhi, India: Routledge. p. 75\. ISBN 978-1-138-79077-3.
4. ↑ Nanjappa, Vicky (23 November 2011). "Sajid Mir remains a mystery even 3 years after 26/11". Rediff. Rediff.com. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
5. ↑ Nanjappa, Vicky (26 November 2015). "Where is Lashkar-e-Taiba's passionate Jihadi, Sajid Mir". Oneindia. Oneindia. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
6. ↑ Khan, Azmat (21 November 2011). "Could This Man's Warnings Have Prevented the Mumbai Attacks?". FRONTLINE. PBS. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
7. ↑ Rotella, Sebastian (13 November 2010). "The Man Behind Mumbai". ProPublica. ProPublica. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
8. ↑ MacDonald, Myra (13 November 2009). "INTERVIEW-French magistrate details Lashkar's global role". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
9. ↑ Ahuja, Namrata Biji (26 November 2020). "Sajid Mir alias 'Uncle Bill' – FBI's most wanted terrorist and the man behind 26/11". The Week. The Week (Indian magazine). Retrieved 26 June 2022. `{{cite news}}`: Text "The Week" ignored (help)
10. ↑ Syed, Baqir Sajjad (25 June 2022). "Top LeT man Sajid Mir quietly held, jailed in terror financing case". DAWN. Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
11. ↑ Gupta, Shishir (24 June 2022). "'Dead' 26/11 planner Sajid Mir comes alive in Pak but Masood Azhar still untraceable". Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
12. ↑ Glanz, James; Rotella, Sebastian; Sanger, David E. (22 December 2014). "In 2008 Mumbai Attacks, Piles of Spy Data, but an Uncompleted Puzzle". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
13. ↑ Footnote 1. harv error: no target: CITEREFFootnote_1 (help)
14. ↑ Singh, Rishika (25 June 2022). "Explained: Who is Sajid Mir, the 26/11 planner reportedly arrested in Pakistan?". The Indian Express. The Indian Express. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
15. ↑ Tiwary, Deeptimaan (30 June 2012). "Pakistan used cricket diplomacy to survey terror targets | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. The Times of India. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
16. ↑ Gani, Miriam; Mathew, Penelope (2008). Fresh perspectives on the 'war on terror'. Canberra: ANU E Press. p. 292\. ISBN 978-1-921313-74-5.
17. ↑ Burke, Paul; Elnakhala, Doaa'; Miller, Seumas (2021). Global jihadist terrorism : terrorist groups, zones of armed conflict and national counter-terrorism strategies. Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, Massachusetts: USA Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. p. 102\. ISBN 9781800371293.
18. ↑ McSherry, Bernadette; Norrie, Alan W; Bronitt, Simon (2009). Regulating Deviance : The Redirection of Criminalisation and the Futures of Criminal Law. Oxford: Hart Pub. p. 145\. ISBN 978-1-84731-476-5.
19. ↑ Fair, C. Christine (2019). In Their Own Words : Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba. Vol. 1\. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 92\. ISBN 978-0-19-949521-4.
20. ↑ Miglani, Sanjeev (28 June 2020). "India seeks extradition from Pakistan of suspected Mumbai attack mastermind". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
21. ↑ Khan, Wajahat S. (24 June 2022). "Pakistan holds 'dead' alleged mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks". Nikkei Asia. The Nikkei. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
22. ↑ Subramanian, Nirupama; Tiwary, Deeptiman (25 June 2022). "26/11 planner Sajid Mir is in Pak custody, years after it claimed he died". The Indian Express. The Indian Express. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
23. ↑ Zulqernain, M (25 June 2022). "Mumbai terror attack handler jailed for 15 years in Pakistan". The Week. The Week (Indian magazine). Retrieved 25 June 2022. `{{cite news}}`: Text "The Week" ignored (help)

## External links[edit]

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