PTI govt bans 11 groups for 'links' to JuD, JeM, FiF

Interior ministry takes action under the National Action Plan

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior has banned 11 organisations under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for their alleged affiliation with proscribed outfits Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

According to a notification issued by the ministry on Saturday, these organisations include Al Anfal Trust (Lahore), Idara-e-Khidmat Khalaq (Lahore), Al Dawatul Irshad (Lahore), Al Hamd Trust (Lahore and Faisalabad), Al-Fazal Foundation/Trust (Lahore), Mosque and Welfare Trust (Lahore), Al Madinah Foundation (Lahore), Muaz bin Jabal Education Trust (Lahore), Al Eesar Foundation (Lahore), Al Rehmat Trust Organisation (Bahawalpur) and Al Furqan Trust (Karachi).

The action has been taken in line with the National Action Plan (NAP), the notification added.

Earlier in February during a meeting of the National Security Committee, the government decided to ban the JuD and the FIF and launch a crackdown on the JeM, which was banned in 2002 by then military ruler General Pervez Musharraf.

In March, the government sealed or took over administrative control of several establishments run by JuD and the FIF.

New prayer leaders and teachers were appointed by the Auqaf department to replace the ones at the mosques and seminaries run by the two banned outfits.

The district administration in Islamabad took over control of Masjid-e-Quba, Madni Masjid, Ali Asghar Masjid, Madrassa Khalid Bin Waleed, and Madrassa Ziaul Quran.

A madrassa, a hospital, and two dispensaries located on the Chakrah and Adiala roads and run by the JuD were sealed by the district government of Rawalpindi.

The Punjab government took over control of the JuD and the FIF headquarters in Lahore.

It also took administrative control of a madrassah and an adjacent mosque in Bahawalpur believed to be the headquarters of the JeM.

Madrassas run by the JuD in Chakwal -- Madrassa Khalid Bin Waleed in the Talagang area and Madrassa Darus Salam on Railway Road -- were placed under the administrative charge of the Auqaf Department.

The Sindh government announced that it had taken over control of 56 facilities being run by JuD and the FIF.

The Quetta deputy commissioner said all establishments in Quetta belonging to the JuD and the FIF, including four madrassas, schools, and dispensaries, had been taken over by the district administration.

Besides, 44 under-observation members of banned outfits, including Mufti Abdul Raoof and Hamad Azhar -- the brother and son of JeM leader Masood Azhar respectively -- were taken in "preventive detention" for investigation.

Masood Azhar, the head of the JeM, was designated a global terrorist by the UN Security Council earlier this month after his listing was delinked with the Kashmir freedom struggle and certain Pakistani state institutions.