Minister says govt has forwarded 20 cases to GHQ for trial in military courts of which trials of 12 cases would start in the next few days
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said Wednesday that the government would ensure a ban on all proscribed organisations mentioned in the blacklist of the United Nations within the next few days.
“There is some confusion regarding the list of banned outfits but I want to make it clear that the government will ban all proscribed organisations mentioned in the blacklist of the United Nations, as Pakistan is a signatory of the UN,” the minister said while speaking on the floor of the National Assembly.
Nisar emphasised that the government would not ban any organisation under pressure from any country, including the US and India. He, however, said Pakistan would fulfil its obligation as a signatory of the United Nations, adding that such a step would be in the country’s favour.
“According to the procedure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes to the Ministry of Interior to put a ban on an organisation after the UN announcement to include such proscribed organisations in the blacklist,” the minister added.
A day before, the interior minister had directed Secretary Interior Shahid Khan to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reconcile a ‘national list’ of proscribed organisations as per the blacklist of the United Nations.
MILITARY COURTS:
Nisar said that military courts were set up by the government after support of all parliamentary parties at the All Parties Conference in the wake of the Peshawar school attack. He clarified that only those who had taken up arms against the state are being hanged.
He said that the government has forwarded 20 terrorism cases to the Army General Headquarters for hearing in military courts. Of these, hearing of 12 cases will soon start, he added.
The minister told the House that 22 convicted terrorists have been hanged to death since the lifting of the moratorium on death sentence and cases of another 17 are under process. He clarified that only those elements are being hanged who took up arms against the state.
He said that steps have also been taken to check terror financing, adding that a special cell had identified 26 cases of terror financing and the authorities have been able to make 32 arrests besides seizing Rs 70 million.
Nisar said that action has also been taken against those involved in propagation of hate material. He added that 3,265 cases have been registered and 2,065 people have been arrested for their involvement in propagating hate speeches.
He told the House that 16,000 combing operations have been carried out in unregistered slums across the country. Twelve thousand people were arrested during these operations of which 140 have direct links with the terrorism, he added.
The minister said the government had succeeded in verifying 30 million Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) and was in the process of verifying yet another 100 million SIMs. He added that SIM verification would be helpful in countering terrorism.