Islamabad, March 5: Under pressure to act against terrorism emanating from its soil, Pakistan on Tuesday cracked down on several organisations proscribed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), including the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) led by 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
Along with JuD, its subsidiary "charity wing" Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) has also been banned by the Interior Ministry. The action was taken under Pakistan's Anti Terrorism Act, 1997. JeM Chief Masood Azhar's Brother, Son Among 44 Detained by Pakistan.
The crackdown on proscribed organisations comes in the backdrop of the UNSC issuing fresh guidelines to Islamabad to act against groups which are using its soil to plan, coordinate and execute terror attacks in the neighbouring countries.
Here's the list of extremist organisations banned by Pakistan:
Hafiz Saeed's Jama'at-ud-Da'wah and its subsidiary Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation banned under Anti Terrorism Act 1997 by Pakistan's Interior Ministry. pic.twitter.com/GhzSTgOWM1
— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2019
The list, however, excludes the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which has reportedly claimed responsibility of the cross-border attack in Jammu & Kashmir's Pulwama, which claimed the lives of 40 Indian security personnel.
Pakistan, however, was not compelled to act against the JeM as the group has not been proscribed by the UNSC. The proposal to list the Jaish under 1267 Sanctions Committee has been vetoed on at least four occasions by Islamabad's all-weather ally China.
Despite JeM not being banned, the international flak - in the backdrop of Pulwama attack - has forced Pakistan to take action against the group. On Tuesday, the authorities detained Mufti Abdur Rauf and Hamza Azhar, the brother and son of Jaish chief Masood Azhar, respectively. Along with them, 42 other members of various terrorist organisations were also taken into custody.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 05, 2019 10:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).