ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan plans to seize control of charities and financial assets linked to Islamist leader Hafiz Saeed, who Washington has designated a terrorist. The civilian government detailed its plans in a secret order to various provincial and federal government departments on December 19, officials who attended one of several high-level meeting discussing the crackdown said.
Marked "secret", the document directed law enforcement and governments in Pakistan's five provinces to submit an action plan for a "takeover" of Saeed's two charities, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF). The United States has labelled JuD and FIF "terrorist fronts" for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group Saeed founded in 1987 and which Washington and India blame for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people.
The secret document, which refers to "Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issues", names only Saeed's two charities and "actions to be taken" against them. The FATF, which is an international body that combats money laundering and terrorist financing, has warned Pakistan it faces actions like inclusion on a watch list for failing to crack down on financing terrorism.
Asked about a crackdown on JuD and FIF, interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, who co-chaired one of the meetings, responded only generally, saying he has ordered authorities "to choke the fundraising of all proscribed outfits in Pakistan."
First major move
If Pakistan follows through with the plan, it would mark the first time the country has made a major move against Saeed's network, which includes 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance services. The JuD and FIF alone have about 50,000 volunteers and hundreds of other paid workers, according to two counter-terrorism officials. Participants at the meeting raised the possibility that the government's failure to act against the charities could lead to UN sanctions. A UN Security Council team is due to visit Pakistan in late January to review progress against UN-designated "terrorist" groups. "Any adverse comments or action suggested by the team can have far-reaching implications for Pakistan," the official said.
The move to seize the charities could spark some concern from the military, which has proposed plans to steer Saeed and the JuD into mainstream politics. In August, JuD officials formed a new political party, the Milli Muslim League, and backed candidates who fared relatively strongly in two key parliamentary by-elections. Saeed has, meanwhile, opened the first office of his party in Lahore.
Don’t register Saeed’s party: Pak govt tells court
Meanwhile, the home ministry has asked a court not to consider Saeed's plea seeking registration as a political party. The home ministry, while describing the MML as an offshoot of the proscribed organisations LeT and JuD, had submitted a written reply in the Islamabad high court requesting it to dismiss MML’s petition seeking registration with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
