Pakistan has listed Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation as “under watch” after the government had announced in February that the two organisations were banned.
On February 21, Pakistan said it had banned the two organisations after a meeting of the National Security Team chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. “ It was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against proscribed organisations,” a government press release had said. “It was further decided that Jamat-ut-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation be notified as proscribed organizations by the Ministry of Interior.”
However, the country’s National Counter Terrorism Authority has listed the two organisations as being “under watch” by the Ministry of Interior. “This list is updated as of 4th March, 2019 and prepared by NACTA based on the notifications issued by Ministry of Interior,” a note said. The updated list has 68 proscribed organisations and four organisations “under watch”.
In February 2018, Mamnoon Hussain, who was Pakistan president at the time, had promulgated an ordinance to ban outfits that the United Nations has designated as terrorist organisations. The United States too has labelled the JuD and its charity group “terrorist fronts” for the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. India has accused Saeed of planning the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai in which 160 people were killed.
The ordinance amended the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 and enabled authorities to freeze the assets of 27 such outfits, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The two organisations, however, were not included on the banned list after the presidential ordinance lapsed.
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