Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry informed the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has been declared a proscribed organisation in Pakistan and will not be allowed to operate.
However, he said that the Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) has not been banned and Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) has been put under observation, but has not been banned.
The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee was conducting a meeting at the Parliament House with the Senator Nuzhat Sadiq.
The foreign secretary told the committee that in line with the United Nations (UN) obligation, Pakistan is bound to take action against organisations that have been banned.
Aizaz also said dossiers given by Pakistan to the UN and the US regarding Indian involvement in Pakistan are only part of the narrative and hard evidence has not been provided as yet.
The foreign secretary further stated that Pakistan is ready for talks with India without pre-conditions.
Aizaz said this year Indian forces had committed 246 violations at the Line of Control (LoC) and the working boundary which resulted in 39 deaths and130 injured civilians.
Aizaz Chaudhry made it clear that the US has been taken into confidence over China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and it has no reservations over the CPEC project.
Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz while briefing the committee said, the prime minister’s visit to the US was successful and bilateral relations between the two countries would be further strengthened.
Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Qazi Khalilullah added at a news briefing at the FO that no Pakistani has been arrested in connection with the Paris attacks.
Following the December 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, the government of Pakistan banned LeT on January 14, 2002. After the proscription, the organisation continued to operate, first under the banner of JuD and then the FIF.
However, under pressure from the UN, the government placed both JuD and FIF on its watch-list in Dec 2008 and March 2012, respectively.
According to a circular issued by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior, under the National Action Plan (NAP), have banned all kind of coverage of banned LeT under UN resolution 1267.”
PEMRA also attached a list of 60 banned organisations and 12 organisations which were on the watch-list.
According to the notification, Section 27 of the PEMRA Act “prohibits broadcasting or re-broadcasting any programme which is likely to create hatred amongst the people or prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order or is likely to disturb public peace.”
