Jaish leaders among 44 persons taken into preventive custody

–Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar’s brother and son among those detained, PM Imran to take decision on JeM chief’s arrest

–Afridi says across-the-board action being taken against proscribed outfits, says govt won’t allow terrorism from Pakistani soil

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior on Tuesday announced that it had taken 44 under-observation members of proscribed organisations, including Mufti Abdul Raoof and Hamad Azhar — the brother and son of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) leader Masood Azhar, respectively — for investigation.

“In order to implement National Action Plan (NAP), a high-level meeting was held in the Ministry of Interior on March 4, attended by all representatives of all provincial governments,” said a statement by the ministry. “These actions will continue, as per the decisions taken in National Security Committee (NSC) while reviewing NAP.”

Statement issued by Pak Interior Ministry over detention of 44 members of proscribed organisation including brother of JeM Chief Masood Azhar pic.twitter.com/KFA9iHIKyG

— Rishikesh Kumar (@rishhikesh) March 5, 2019

This was also confirmed by Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi and Ministry of Interior Secretary Azam Suleman Khan at a press conference on Tuesday.

“This is across the board — we don’t want to give the impression that we are against one organisation,” said Khan while talking to the media.

He acknowledged that some people who have been detained — including Raoof and Azhar — are named in the dossier handed by India to Pakistan on the Pulwama attack. “It does not mean that action is being taken against only those individuals who are mentioned in the dossier.”

According to sources, the government is also considering to take Masood Azhar into preventive custody, however a final decision in this regard will be taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The MoI secretary further said: “If we have to take over any [organisation’s] assets, we will do so. Assets can be taken over of organisations already declared as proscribed, under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

“If we obtain any further evidence or if we have to investigate any organisation, the government can take any organisation into custody at any time.”

The secretary was also questioned by a reporter regarding the status of Jamaatud Dawa, which the reporter said was still “under a watch list” according to Indian media and not yet proscribed.

Furthermore, the reporter inquired as to why a notification was issued by the information ministry and not the interior ministry when the government’s decision to reinstate the ban on the organisation was announced following a National Security Council meeting on February 21.

The secretary chalked it down to paperwork and confirmed that the ban will take effect within 24 hours and a notification, this time, will be issued by the interior ministry.

When pressed by journalists to reveal more names of those detained, the secretary said: “We cannot reveal any more names at this point. Those we have taken into preventive detention will be investigated, and if we learn more names along the way, those will be added accordingly.”

India blames Pakistan for the suicide bombing in Pulwama that killed over 40 soldiers in India-occupied Kashmir’s Pulawama. Pakistan, from the get-go, rejected the Indian claim, urging New Delhi to share “actionable evidence” so that it could act upon it.

“We won’t allow the use of our soil against any country,” said Afridi, stressing on the fact that none of the actions were taken under any kind of pressure and that it was Pakistan’s own initiative to take these measures.

“This is Pakistan’s decision […] the action will continue for two weeks. Every single detail will be shared with all stakeholders,” said Afridi.

Masood Azhar, the chief of JeM, is in Pakistan, said Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in an interview last week.

The government on Monday notified a 2019 order of the United Nations Security Council that would provide a legal basis for freezing or seizure of properties owned by individuals and organisations designated by the council as terrorists.

“The Federal Government issued the United Nations Security Council (Freezing and Seizure) Order, 2019 in accordance with the provisions of Pakistan’s United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Act, 1948 (Act No. XIV of 1948),” the Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement issued to the media.

The order was issued to meet the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regarding the implementation of designation of persons and entities under the UNSC resolutions. Pakistan, despite making some progress in overcoming the shortcomings in its counterterrorism financing and anti-money laundering regimes, continues to remain under the cloud at the global illicit financing watchdog.

After failing to adequately convince the FATF, Pakistan is now required to complete actions it has to take by the May timeline. The next FATF plenary is due in June this year.