Sajid Mir (terrorist)

Sajid Mir
ساجد میر
Mir in an undated photograph
Born1976 or 1978
Lahore, Pakistan
NationalityPakistani
Other namesSajid Majid, Sajid Majid Chaudary, Uncle Bill
OrganizationLashkar-e-Taiba
Known for2008 Mumbai attacks
Height5 ft 5 in to 5 ft 6 in (165-168 cm)
Conviction(s)Terror financing (Anti Terrorism Court of Pakistan)
Criminal penalty15 years imprisonment
Wanted by
India, FBI

Sajid Mir (Urdu: ساجد میر, born 1976 or 1978)[1] is a Pakistani national from Lahore and a member of the militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.[2] Mir was the chief planner of the 2008 Mumbai attacks,[2][3] and has also managed the tasks of the 'foreign affairs' of Lashkar-e-Taiba's international wing.[4]

Sajid Mir was initially believed to be a fictitious character, as claimed by Pakistan,[5][6] but was later revealed by French magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière's statement to journalist Sebastian Rotella as being a real person.[7][8] Jean-Louis Bruguiere, during 2009, also stated that Sajid Mir is a regular official in the Pakistan Army.[9]

After the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Mir was indicted in the United States in 2011. He was sanctioned as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List on 30 August 2012 by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.[10][11] Mir is listed on the United States Department of State's Rewards for Justice Terror List for a reward of up to US$5 million for information which leads to his arrest. He is also listed on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list.[11] China has prevented the United Nations Security Council from designating Mir as a global terrorist under the Al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee.[12]

In 2022, an Anti Terrorism Court of Pakistan convicted him of terror financing and sentenced him to 15 years of imprisonment.

In 2023, a proposal by the United States and India to designate him as a global terrorist was blocked by China.[13]

Early life

Sajid Mir was born to a middle-class family in Lahore. His father, Abdulmajid Mir, who runs a textile business, went to Lahore during the India-Pakistan partition. Mir is a son-in-law of a retired officer of the Pakistan Army.[14]

Militancy

Mir was associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed in 1994, and got early access to Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.[15] With the protection of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), he also planned terror attacks in the United States, France, Australia and Denmark (the latter for the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy).[16][11]

Terrorism plot in Australia

Sajid Mir plotted a terrorist attack in Australia in 2003. For the attack plan, Mir recruited Willie Brigitte, a French national who converted to Islam and joined Lashkar-e-Taiba. Willie also funded him to travel to Australia in May 2003. Afterwards, in October 2003, Brigitte was arrested by Sydney police and deported to France, where, in 2007, he was convicted and sentenced to nine years of imprisonment for the charge of 'associating with terrorists',[17][18] and Sajid Mir was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment.[19] Willie Brigitte, who used to train Lashkar-e-Taiba members, confessed that Sajid Mir was well known by the Pakistan Army and that Mir never had any problems roaming in the Pakistan Army's areas.[20]

2008 Mumbai attacks

Sajid Mir was the chief plotter of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. To carry out the attack, Mir recruited David Coleman Headley (Daood Sayed Gilani) and assisted Headley in visiting Mumbai prior to the attacks.[21] After the terror attack, the FBI listed Sajid Mir as a 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. Mir has a bounty of US $5 million, as declared by the FBI.[1][22] In 2012, 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 ODI Cricket match at Mohali. Ansari further revealed that after visiting several places in India, Sajid Mir prepared Taj Hotel's miniature model to train the attackers familiar with the hotel's inner places.[23]

In 2020, India sought the extradition of Sajid Mir, but Pakistan did not respond.[24]

Arrest and conviction

Pakistan earlier denied Mir's presence in their country, and later claimed he was dead, but in 2022, Pakistan arrested him.[25][26] An anti-terrorism court in Lahore convicted 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 Mir and sought removal of Pakistan from the 'Grey list' of the FATF.[27]

In December 2023, it was reported that Mir was poisoned in prison.[28][29]

Sajid Mir was portrayed by Mir Sarwar in the 2015 Indian film Phantom.[30][31][32]

References

  1. ^ a b "Sajid Mir". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Verma, Bharat (2013). Indian Defence Review Apr-Jun 2012. Vol. 27. New Delhi: Lancer. p. 26. ISBN 978-81-7062-259-8.
  3. ^ 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. Government Printing Office. 2012. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-16-090504-9.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Nanjappa, Vicky (23 November 2011). "Sajid Mir remains a mystery even 3 years after 26/11". Rediff. Rediff.com. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  6. ^ Nanjappa, Vicky (26 November 2015). "Where is Lashkar-e-Taiba's passionate Jihadi, Sajid Mir". Oneindia. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  7. ^ Khan, Azmat (21 November 2011). "Could This Man's Warnings Have Prevented the Mumbai Attacks?". FRONTLINE. PBS. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  8. ^ Rotella, Sebastian (13 November 2010). "The Man Behind Mumbai". ProPublica. ProPublica. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  9. ^ MacDonald, Myra (13 November 2009). "Interview – French magistrate details Lashkar's global role". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  10. ^ "MIR, Sajid". sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  11. ^ a b c "Sajid Mir". Rewards For Justice. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  12. ^ Mukhopadhyay, Sounak (17 September 2022). "LeT Commander Sajid Mir won't be called 'global terrorist', thanks to China". mint. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  13. ^ "China blocks proposal at UN to blacklist Pak-based LeT terrorist and 26/11 accused Sajid Mir". republicworld. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  14. ^ 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. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  15. ^ Syed, Baqir Sajjad (25 June 2022). "Top LeT man Sajid Mir quietly held, jailed in terror financing case". DAWN. Dawn. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Gani, Miriam; Mathew, Penelope (2008). Fresh perspectives on the 'war on terror'. Canberra: ANU E Press. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-921313-74-5.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ Tiwary, Deeptimaan (30 June 2012). "Pakistan used cricket diplomacy to survey terror targets | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  24. ^ Miglani, Sanjeev (28 June 2020). "India seeks extradition from Pakistan of suspected Mumbai attack mastermind". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  25. ^ Khan, Wajahat S. (24 June 2022). "Pakistan holds 'dead' alleged mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks". Nikkei Asia. The Nikkei. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ Zulqernain, M (25 June 2022). "Mumbai terror attack handler jailed for 15 years in Pakistan". The Week. The Week. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  28. ^ "Pak 'Fools' FATF: 26/11 Plotter, Lashkar Commander Sajid Mir 'Poisoned' In Jail | Watch". Hindustan Times. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  29. ^ "Sajid Mir, key conspirator of Mumbai 26/11 attacks poisoned inside Pakistan's jail | TOI Original - Times of India Videos". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  30. ^ "Phantom Cast & Crew". Bollywood Hungama. 28 August 2015.
  31. ^ "Meet the villains of 'Phantom' - Times of India". The Times of India. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  32. ^ Pacheco, Sunitra (28 August 2015). "Will Saif Ali Khan-Katrina Kaif's 'Phantom' be as successful as Kabir Khan's last?". The Indian Express. The Indian Express. Retrieved 11 July 2022.

Further reading