Who is Sajid Mir? India exposes Pakistan’s role, says terrorist was ‘brought back to life’ amid global heat

Highlighting Pakistan's role in aiding terrorism across the world and providing a safe haven to the terrorists, the Indian government referred to how Sajid Mir, a top commander of the proscribed terrorist organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was “brought back to life” by Islamabad amid international pressure.

During the media briefing following Operation Sindoor, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that Pakistan has a well-deserved “reputation of being a haven for terrorists from around the world, with terrorists enjoying impunity there.” Vikram Misri also accused Pakistan of misleading the world to give immunity to the terrorists residing in the country.

Highlighting the role of Pakistan-based terrorists in the Pahalgam terror attack, he said, “The features of this attack also tie in with Pakistan's long track record of perpetrating cross-border terror in India, which is well documented, and beyond question….The Sajid Mir case, in which this terrorist was declared dead and then, in response to international pressure, brought back to life, found alive and arrested, is the most glaring example.”

Who is Sajid Mir?

Sajid Mir, who uses aliases such as “Sajid Majeed, Ibrahim Shah, Wasi, Khali, Muhammad Waseem" is a resident of Lahore in Punjab Province. He is a top commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

According to the Home Ministry, Sajid Mir is on the National Investigation Agency (NIA)’s most wanted list for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack as one of its main planners.

The ministry said an investigation by the NIA revealed that Sajid Mir was also one of the key handlers of David Coleman Headley for the Mumbai terror attacks. 
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During a testimony at a US court, David Headley had described Sajid Mir as an “ISI officer”.

What FBI says about Sajid Mir

As per the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Sajid Mir features in the agency's Most Wanted Terrorist list for “conspiracy to injure property of foreign government; providing material support to terrorists; killing a citizen outside the US, aiding and abetting; bombing of places of public use”.

The United States Department of State has also declared a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Sajid Mir's arrest and conviction.

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“Additionally, Mir allegedly conspired to commit a terrorist attack against a newspaper and its employees in Denmark between 2008 and 2009,” the FBI says.

It adds: “Mir was indicted in the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Chicago, Illinois, on April 21, 2011, and was charged with conspiracy to injure property of foreign government; providing material support to terrorists; killing a citizen outside of the US and aiding and abetting; and bombing of places of public use.”

An arrest warrant against him was issued on April 22, 2011.

Sajid Mir reportedly underwent plastic surgery after the 2008 attack. According to reports, it was Sajid Mir who advised Headley to change his name from ‘Dawood Gilani’ to ‘David Coleman Headley’ so he could pose as an American.

Why is his case extraordinary?

In 2022, Pakistan's Dawn reported that Sajid Mir was sentenced by an anti-terrorism court in Lahore in June 2022 after convicting him in a terror-financing case. The court had also fined Sajid Mir Pkr 4,20,000. It said he was serving his sentence in Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.

The report also mentioned that the terrorist was quietly jailed in Pakistan. Even his detention was kept away from the media's eyes, the report added. Till this news report came, the Pakistani authorities had pronounced Sajid Mir “untraceable or dead”; sometimes, even his existence was denied. According to a report in Nikkei Asia, he was arrested in June 2022.

According to the report, the quiet arrest and sentencing were done to get off the “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT).