Pakistan further tightens terrorists

LAHORE: The federal government has proscribed 88 leaders and members of terrorist groups, in compliance with the new list, issued by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) recently.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government issued two notifications on August 18, announcing sanctions on key figures of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Taliban, Daesh, Haqqani Group, al-Qaeda, and others.

The notifications order seizure of all movable and immoveable properties of these outfits and individuals, and freezing of their bank accounts. These terrorists have been barred from transferring money through financial institutions, purchasing arms and travelling abroad, etc.

The notifications ratified a complete ban on all leaders and members of defunct Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hiding in the Pak-Afghan border areas. Hafiz Saeed Ahmad of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Mohammad Masood Azhar of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Mullah Fazlullah (alias Mullah Radio), Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Muhammad Yahya Mujahid, Abdul Hakeem Murad, wanted by Interpol, Noor Wali Mehsud, Fazal Raheem Shah of Uzbekistan Liberation Movement, Taliban leaders Jalaluddin Haqqani, Khalil Ahmad Haqqani, Yahya Haqqani and Dawood Ibrahim of Indian state of Maharashtra and his associates.

The notifications said that leadership of the defunct TTP, and other organisations including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Tariq Geedar group of TTP, Harkatul Mujahedin, Al Rasheed Trust, Al Akhtar Trust, Tanzim Jaish-al Mohajireen Ansar, Jamaat-ul Ahrar, Tanzim Khutba Imam Bukhari, Rabita Trust Lahore, Revival of Islamic Heritage Society of Pakistan, Al-Harmain Foundation Islamabad, Harkat Jihad Al Islami, Islami Jihad Group, Uzbekistan Islami Tehrik, Daesh of Iraq, Emirates of Tanzim Qafqaz working against Russia, and Abdul Haq Uyghurs of Islamic Freedom Movement of China have been banned. The Pakistan government has also ratified the ban on these terror outfits and individuals.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement that it is the UNSC Taliban Sanctions Committee that deals with sanctions on Taliban and entities and individuals, associated with them. Upon any change by the Committee, all states including Pakistan, implement these sanctions which include assets freeze, arms embargo and travel ban. The Taliban Sanctions Committee has not announced any changes in its sanctions list recently.

The SRO, issued by Pakistan on Aug 18, 2020 only consolidates and documents the previously announced SROs as a procedural measure and does not reflect any change in the sanctions list or sanction measures.