Over Rs71m recovered in crackdown on terror financing, PM told

233 militants identified who have links with TTP or its affiliates; 26 cases registered for terrorism financing

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was told on Friday that over Rs71 million had been recovered in an ongoing crackdown on terror financing as he was briefed on the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP).

The PM was informed that 26 cases had been registered for terrorism financing, 32 had been arrested and an amount of Rs71.5 million recovered.

Further, the 22 tasks listed in NAP, including military courts, transfer of cases to military courts and other steps to counter terrorism.

He was informed that a Standard Operating Procedure for transfer of cases from the provinces was being put in place and that approved cases would be sent to the proposed nine military courts for disposal.

The prime minister was informed that there was consensus on the registration, regulation, financing, curriculum and audit of seminaries, and that the admission of foreign students to seminaries had been stopped and that the National Police Bureau was setting up a database in cooperation with NADRA.

He was also informed that 233 militants had been identified who had links with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or its affiliates, whereas around 60 entities had been put on the list of proscribed organisations and one on the watch list.

Following Friday's attack on a Shia mosque in Peshawar which left 19 people dead, the premier was told that 294 proclaimed offenders under the sectarian terrorism category had been identified. Further, 547 cases had been registered under hate speech while 416 arrests had been made with 83 pieces confiscated, and 41 shops sealed.

Prime Minister Sharif was also informed that the government in coordination with the Defence Ministry plans to have a well-trained and well-equipped Counter Terrorism Force that will have 5,000 personnel from Punjab, 1,000 from Balochistan, 800 from Sindh and 3,000 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Of the verification of 103 million SIMs, so far 31.02 million have been verified, while the rest of them would be completed by mid-April, while the laws regarding the blocking of social media were being amended and a report would be submitted in 15 days.

Prime Minister Sharif was also informed that a security audit of media houses and journalists in all provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory was complete and 57 security guards have so far been trained.

About the Afghan refugees, the Prime Minister was told that a plan was finalised and the registration of undocumented refugees was underway.

The PM learned that following the Karachi operation there was a significant reduction in crimes and 35,029 criminals have been arrested.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Law and Justice Division has finalised draft amendments in laws to strengthen the criminal justice system.

To counter militancy in Punjab a de-radicalisation program was launched and a pilot project for training and provision of soft loans has been approved for 200 youth.

In 16,344 combing operations conducted by the provincial governments between December 24 and February 8 in which 12,462 individuals had been arrested.

Three thousand two hundred and sixty five cases had been registered against the use of loudspeakers, 2,065 individuals had been arrested, and 1,281 pieces of equipment seized.