NIA Court Issues Non-Bailable Warrant Against Hafiz Saeed in Pahalgam Attack Case

The Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Jammu has issued a non-bailable warrant against Hafiz Saeed, the chief of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), in connection with the 2000 Pahalgam terror attack case.

The warrant was issued on July 8 by the Special Judge of the NIA Court, two days after the NIA filed a supplementary charge sheet against Saeed. The court noted that the arrest and custodial interrogation of the accused are necessary for a fair, complete, and effective investigation.

“Arrest and custodial interrogation of the accused (Saeed) are necessary for a fair, complete and effective investigation. As such, a non-bailable warrant of arrest is issued against him and is forwarded to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), NIA Jammu, for execution in accordance with law,” the court said in its order.

The Pahalgam attack occurred in August 2000 when LeT militants killed 30 people, mostly Hindu pilgrims, in the Kashmir valley. The case was initially investigated by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and later taken over by the NIA. Saeed, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, has not been extradited to India.

The non-bailable warrant paves the way for the trial to proceed in absentia against Saeed, as he is unlikely to appear before the court. The NIA had sought an “open-dated non-bailable warrant” against Saeed, who is a resident of Sargodha in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Hafiz Saeed is also wanted in several other cases in India, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was designated a global terrorist by the United Nations in 2008. Pakistan has maintained that it does not have evidence to prosecute him in the Pahalgam case.