Pakistan bans Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa

Amid intense global pressures to act against terror groups, Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC), headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, has banned the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamat-ud-Dawa and its charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF). "It was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against proscribed organisations," a spokesman of the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

"It was further decided that Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation be notified as proscribed organizations by the Ministry of Interior," he added. Earlier, these outfits were kept on the watchlist of the interior ministry.

"Pakistan National Security Committee (NSC) orders acceleration of anti-terrorism operations; reinstates ban on Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) & Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) Pakistan," tweeted ANI.

Dawn News: Pakistan National Security Committee (NSC) orders acceleration of anti-terrorism operations; reinstates ban on Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) & Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) Pakistan pic.twitter.com/0MVKger8yL

— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2019

According to officials, Jamaat-ud-Dawa - believed to be the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people - has a network of 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house, and ambulance service. It was declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014. The two groups have about 50,000 volunteers and hundreds of other paid workers.

The US Department of the Treasury has designated its chief Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice. Saeed was listed under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008. He was released from house arrest in Pakistan in November 2017.

The NSC meeting also reviewed the National Action Plan against terrorism in detail. Services chiefs and key ministers were in attendance.

"We need to move to ensure that militancy and extremism are rooted from the society and the State never becomes hostage to extremists," Khan said as he directed both the interior ministry and the security institutions to immediately accelerate actions on ground. 

With PTI Inputs