Mumbai attack masterminds Hafiz Saeed, Lakhvi guided LeT from Pak jails

LONDON - The alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks was running his terrorist group even while in prison in Pakistan, according to documents released by the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks.

The claim is in a 2009 diplomatic message from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which says Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, head of banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was responsible for its “military budget” as of last July.

The leaked cable, sent on August 10, 2009 by Hillary Clinton, says that Lakhvi, along with the group’s founder Hafiz Saeed, “continued to run” LeT “despite being detained for their role” in the Mumbai attacks, the BBC reports.

Hafiz Saeed, who was held after the Mumbai attacks but released without charge, now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, an Islamic charity widely accused of being a front for LeT.

The leaked cable said Lakhvi was responsible for the group’s annual 5.2 million dollar “military operations budget” as of mid-July 2009, a time when he was in prison.

“He reportedly used the money to purchase all materials required for LeT operations other than weapons and ammunition,” the cable said, quoting a source.

The message goes on to allege that Lakhvi and Saeed “planned, directed and executed” the LeT’s attacks in South Asia. (ANI)