Pakistan freezes bank accounts of over 5,000 terror suspects, including JeM chief Masood Azhar

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has frozen the bank accounts of around 5,100 terror suspects, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, media reports said on Monday. The frozen bank accounts reportedly had more than Rs 400 million.

Among those whose accounts were frozen include 1,200 suspects that belong to “category A” of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, which covers terrorists who pose high risk. 1500 are listed in  the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, The News daily quoted unnamed officials as saying. Masood Azhar is included in “category A”, officials of the interior ministry and SBP said.

“Following a request of the ministry of interior, we have frozen accounts of all top suspected terrorists, including Masood Azhar, son of Allah Bux,” a senior official of SBP told The News.

Ihsan Ghani, national coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) confirmed that SBP has frozen more than 5,000 bank accounts of the terror suspects. “These accounts hold a net amount worth Rs 400 million,” he said.

Suspects whose accounts were frozen include Maulana Abdul Aziz of Islamabad’s radical Lal Masjid, Ahmed Ludhianvi of the Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, Matiur Rehman of al-Qaeda Pakistan, Qari Ehsan of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.