US welcomes indictment of Hafiz Saeed on terror funding charges, urges Pakistan to ensure 'full prosecution and expeditious trial'

Washington: The US has welcomed the indictment of Hafiz Saeed, the Mumbai terror attack mastermind and chief of the banned JuD, and urged Pakistan to ensure a full prosecution and expeditious trial in line with its international obligations. [caption id=“attachment_5130451” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Hafiz Saeed. Reuters[/caption] “We welcome the indictment of Hafiz Saeed and his associates,” Alice G Wells, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, said on Wednesday in a tweet. Wells also said the US calls for a full prosecution and expeditious trial in line with its international obligations. “We call for Pakistan to ensure a full prosecution and expeditious trial in line with its international obligations to counter terrorist financing and bring the perpetrators of terrorist attacks like 26/11 to justice,” she said. Saeed was indicted on Wednesday by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court along with three of his close aides on terror financing charges. The anti-terrorism court (ATC) Lahore indicted Saeed, Hafiz Abdul Salam bin Muhammad, Muhammad Ashraf and Zafar Iqbal in the presence of the accused. ATC Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta directed the prosecution to produce witnesses and adjourned the hearing till Thursday.