Ghazi Force, HuJI, Al-Rasheed, Al-Akhtar Trust among banned outfits

ISLAMABAD: The Ghazi Force, Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HuJI), Al-Rasheed Trust and Al-Akhtar Trust have been included in the list of banned outfits.
The federal government has issued directives for action against the sympathisers of militants and monitoring their movement.Extortion, kidnappings for ransom, drug and weapon mafia have also been included in the watchlist.
The federal government has rearranged the list of the banned outfits involved in extremism countrywide. The Interior Ministry is of the opinion that there are more than 60 extremist organisations in the country. They are involved in terrorism, militancy and other heinous crimes.
According to the Interior Ministry, seven outfits are included in the watchlist. However, Ghazi Force, Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami, Al-Rasheed Trust and Al-Akhtar Trust, which were already in the watchlist, have been listed among the banned outfits.
Many groups of Tehreek-e-Taliban have formed organisations separately and renamed themselves, which include the Qari Abid Group, Noorullah Group, Waliullah Group, Nizam Group, Tauheed Group and several other groups. Most of these groups have been working in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, most of the militants that were part of these groups have been killed after the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb.
Seven banned outfits of Balochistan have been included in the federal government’s list. They are the Balochistan Liberation Army, Balochistan National Liberation Army, Balochistan Liberation Unit Front, Balochistan Republican Army, Lashkar Balochistan, Balochistan Musallah Difa Tanzeem and Balochistan Unit Army.
The organisations working in Gilgit-Baltistan i.e. Naujawanan-e-Ahle Sunnat, Muslim Students Organisation, Markaz Sabeel Organisation and Shia Talaba Action Committee are also among the banned outfits.
The People’s Amn Committee in Sindh province has already been banned. In the latest list, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Tehreek-e-Taliban and Jundullah Group accompany the People’s Amn Committee among the banned outfits.
The Mohajir Republican Army is not included in the list. Sunni Tehreek, Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi, Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Taiba are more active in Karachi.The list by the federal government also has names of different groups of Karachi that have been declared part of extortion, kidnappings for ransom, drug and weapon mafia.
In the letter by the Interior Ministry, it has been said that the branches and groups of banned outfits are working in Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Balochistan, and Punjab under different names, which is a sheer violation of the law.
The federal government has warned that banned outfits and their branches are not allowed to function under a new name.The provincial governments have been directed to make sure that the movement of those having links with militants and extremists be monitored and action be taken against sympathisers of the banned outfits.