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India-Pakistan

Pakistan's banned organisations list to match UN blacklist

2015-02-11

[DAWN] Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ...Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz Uncle Fester Sharif. He is noted for his vocal anti-American railing in the National Assembly. However (comma) Khan told the U.S. ambassador that he was in fact pro-American but he and the PML-N would have to be critical of US actions in order to remain publicly credible. Khan cited his wife and children's US citizenship as proof, which means he's lying to one side or the other and probably both. He wears a wig, but you probably guessed that. since hair doesn't grow naturally in that shape or texture... on Tuesday directed Secretary Interior Shahid Khan to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reconcile a 'national list' of proscribed organizations as per the blacklist of the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Nisar gave the directive in a meeting which met to review progress on the National Action Plan (NAP) for countering militancy and extremism. The meeting was attended by Secretary Interior, National Coordinator NACTA, DG-FIA, Chief Commissioner ICT and IG Islamabad. An official of the Interior Ministry told Dawn.com that the ministry had already included the Haqqani Network and JuD in the list of proscribed outfits but the government was reluctant to formally make an announcement in this regard. The official said that the total number of proscribed outfits in Pakistain has reached 72 and includes 12 banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all... organizations, the number of which will increase in the next few weeks. "The government has also decided to monitor the activities of the banned outfits leadership and to restrict their movement within the country," the official added. According to the documents available with Dawn.com, the interior ministry has added Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami, Harkat-ul-Mujahi­deen, Falah-e-Insaniat Foun­dation, Ummah Tameer-e-Nau, Haji Khairullah Hajji Sattar Money Exchange, Rahat Limited, Roshan Money Exchange, Al Akhtar Trust, Al Rashid Trust, Haqqani network and Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... to the list of proscribed organizations.

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India-Pakistan

Pakistan freezes Jamaatud Dawa bank accounts

2015-01-23

[DAWN] In what appears to be a move towards the swift implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), Pakistain on Thursday said the bank accounts of Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... (JuD) have been frozen and foreign travel restrictions have been imposed on Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain... , the organization's leader. "Pakistain took this decision under the UN obligation and not under pressure from any other quarter including John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... ," Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said in a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad. Aslam said that assets of all banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all... organizations in the country have been frozen and that the country is taking action against gunnies with discrimination, according to a report published on Radio Pakistain. The FO spokesperson also said that the Haqqani Network has also been banned, however, she added that the organization does not have bank accounts in Pakistain. She further reiterated that the decision has been taken in Pakistain's own interest and not due to external pressure. The US and India both have always considered JuD, the 'charity' organization run by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, as the sister organization of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... , a Death Eater outfit facing blame of criminal masterminding 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The Haqqani Network, founded by Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, has been blamed for some of the most deadly attacks on US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States in September 2012. An interior ministry official a day earlier confirmed to Dawn.com that Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the Haqqani network are in the list of proscribed outfits. However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... the government showed reluctance to announce the curb in an official capacity. Talking to Dawn.com, an interior ministry official said the United States had sought a ban on the Haqqani network and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) but the matter was being delayed. According to the documents available with Dawn.com, the interior ministry has added Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami, Harkat-ul-Mujahi­deen, Falah-e-Insaniat Foun­dation, Ummah Tameer-e-Nau, Haji Khairullah Hajji Sattar Money Exchange, Rahat Limited, Roshan Money Exchange, Al Akhtar Trust, Al Rashid Trust, Haqqani network and Jamaat-ud-Dawa to the list of proscribed organizations. "During his recent visit to Islamabad, US Secretary of State John Kerry also appreciated the decision of the government to put a ban on the Haqqani network and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa," the official said. He said the government had already directed the departments concerned to take immediate steps to freeze the assets of the banned outfits, including the Haqqani Network and JuD.

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India-Pakistan

Govt tight-lipped about ban on JuD, Haqqani Network

2015-01-22

[DAWN] The federal government is reluctant to speak about a reported ban on the Haqqani Network and Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), but government officials in private say the development has occurred as part of the progress on the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism. An Haqqani Networkofficial of the Ministry of Interior on Wednesday said JuD and the Haqqani Network have been added to the list of proscribed outfits. The official told Dawn.com that it was the demand of the United States to ban the Haqqani Network and JuD but that the government is using "delay tactics". Give them time to empty their bank accounts and tranfer the money, think up new names, and then reopen at thesame old stand. The official said that the recent attack of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) gunnies on Army Public School in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. compelled the government to take strict action against all holy warrior organizations without any differentiation of 'good' and 'bad' Taliban. But JuD's different. They're owned by the Pak govt. According to a document available with Dawn.com, the interior ministry included new organizations in the list of proscribed organizations including: Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami Harkat-ul-Mujahidin Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation The relief wing of JuD. Ummah Tameer-e-Nau A Pak organization that tried to funnel nuclear weapons know-how to al-Qaeda. Hamid Gul's on the board, if that gives you a clue. Haji Khairullah Hajji Sattar Money Exchange Rahat Limited Roshan Money Exchange Al Akhtar Trust Al Rashid Trust Haqqani Network Jamat-ud-Dawa. "During his visit to Islamabad, US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... also appreciated the decision of the government to ban Haqqani Network and Jamat-ud-Dawa," the official added. The official also said that the government had already directed relevant departments to take immediate steps to freeze the assets of the banned outfits, which include Haqqani Network and Jamat-ud-Dawa. The United States has welcomed Pakistain's decision to ban the groups, terming the move an important step towards eliminating terrorism. The Express Tribune in a report quoted senior Interior Ministry officials as saying that the groups have been banned. The Nation today carried a report quoting a government official saying the ban has not taken effect.

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India-Pakistan

The case of JuD

2012-03-26

[Dawn] THERE is substantive evidence to suggest that Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... (JuD) is gaining ground in Pakistain. Irrespective of the causes, the rise of the group from within a relatively smaller religious sect and its ability to create an immense impact both on public and policy discourse in Pakistain is considered by its associates as a great 'triumph'. Having conceived its objectives in a narrow sectarian and anti-democratic perspective, the JuD is now struggling to adjust itself as an important player in the country's religious-political landscape. During the last one decade or so, it has launched and led many mass movements: a campaign against the Prophet's (PTUI!) images by a Danish cartoonist; countrywide protests against the Iraq war; Tehrik Hurmat-e-Rasool (in reaction to the desecration of the Koran in Guantanamo some years ago); a movement against the women's protection bill; and the pro-Soddy Arabia campaign in the context of Riyadh's role following the unrest in Bahrain. The group is now among the leading members of the Difaa-e-Pakistain Council (DPC). Once the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) had the ability to mobilise the immense mass movements and its participation in any religious and political agitation was considered the key to success but now the JuD has taken over the role. One reason could be that the JuD has built its organizational structure on the pattern of the JI. Also, the top leadership of the group has served in the JI. Is it a sign of transformation of a hard-core thug organization into a mainstream religious political party? Is the JuD following a pattern similar to that of Hezbullies and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,? It can be discerned from the recent history of radical and thug organizations that when the infrastructure of one among such organizations expanded on a large scale, the group's stakes grew in the same system it had been opposing previously. Contrary to this, thug groups that failed to develop their organizational infrastructure were subjected to divisions and became more violent. The JuD has succeeded over time in diversifying its infrastructure and resources, employing the strategy of social delivery programmes and exploiting contemporary religious and political issues. At the same time, despite internal and external pressures, it has succeeded in keeping its thug network the Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... (LeT) intact. Many thug groups in Pakistain, contemporaries of the JuD, could not diversify their ideological and physical resources and ultimately faced erosion within their organizational structures. Their breakaway factions got involved in terrorism inside the country, which forced them to limit their links with them and remain underground. Nevertheless, the JuD is on the surface and owns a solid and stretched-out infrastructure inside Pakistain which includes more than 300 offices, mosques and madressahs. The group has set up many commercial ventures including more than 400 English-medium schools, colleges, transportation companies, residential projects and media groups and has acquired farmland on a large scale. Its charity wing has one of the biggest fleet of ambulances in the country, seven hospitals and more than 200 health centres. The group has the second largest charity network in Pakistain after Maymar Trust, formally known as Al-Rashid Trust. This means that the JuD cannot afford any confrontation with the state that could force it to abandon its activities in the country. In the beginning, the JuD's ideological discourse was built on an extremely narrow sectarian agenda of spreading hatred against the Shia and Barelvi communities, as reflected in its earlier publications. But after 9/11, it adopted a reconciliatory approach and invited opposing sects to its platform to 'wage a joint struggle for a common cause'. The approach worked and not only the JuD but the Ahle Hadith school of thought too gained ground in public and religious discourses. The JuD even struck roots in the Hindu-dominated districts of Sindh, where more numbers among the local population were seen to embrace Islam. It must be a good feeling among JuD's brothers in Soddy Arabia and other Gulf states that the thug group has had a significant impact on Pakistain where these countries had been spending enormous resources on promoting their orthodox school of thought for decades, but had failed to attract the Sunni majority.Is JuD's active participation in political rallies and membership of an alliance of political parties and individuals a sign that the group has ambitions to move towards electoral politics? Though their rejection of democracy was one of the prime objectives behind the establishment of the JuD, the group leadership appears to have changed tack. It seems that the group has the willingness to participate in electoral politics but is concerned about the absence of an electoral support base. Nevertheless, JuD members had contested local bodies elections in their individual capacity and supported different candidates in previous general elections. The JuD's taking part in electoral politics would be an interesting phenomenon for political scientists to see how a thug group had completed its lifecycle in Pakistain. The JuD still believes in achieving its goal through the use of violence but it is becoming extremely cautious in its sociopolitical rhetoric. Although it has not yet abandoned ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) it avoids admitting its links with it at a public level. It may not be because of any fear of public reaction but mainly to avoid external pressure. There is a dissident voice also in the organization that this indifferent policy towards LeT could lead towards complete detachment from it. The assessment of JuD's probable political transformation is only relevant if the group is considered as an independent entity with no links to and patronisation from any quarter of the establishment. Certainly, establishments use non-state actors for their legitimate and illegitimate purposes, but non-state actors gradually become independent and it becomes difficult for the establishments to control them as it happened in the case of many thug organizations in Pakistain which were created in Afghanistan and Kashmire but later turned against the state. For instance, Ilyas Kashmiri, once an asset, rebelled and dealt a blow to the security forces. He was considered the criminal mastermind behind some major attacks on security forces in Pakistain.

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India-Pakistan

Three more religious groups banned

2012-03-12

[Dawn] The government banned on Saturday another three religious/charity organizations working in the country. According to a bigwig of the interior ministry, with the latest ban imposed on Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), Al Harmain Foundation (AHF) and Rabita Trust (RT), I believe al-Harumain and Rabita Trust were banned under Perv in 2002 or thereabouts and removed after their protestations of innocence around 2006. The dates are just off the top of my head, so could be wrong. the number of outlawed organizations and groups has risen to 38. The three organizations were outlawed by the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... in 2009 under a resolution adopted by the Security Council. ... and three years later Pakistain gets around to putting them on the list of banned organizations, a process that still has nothing to do with putting them out of business... The ASWJ, known previously as the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain ...a Sunni Deobandi organization, a formerly registered Pak political party, established in the early 1980s in Jhang by Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. Its stated goal is to oppose Shia influence in Pakistain. They're not too big on Brelvis, either. Or Christians. Or anybody else who's not them. The organization was banned in 2002 as a terrorist organization, but somehow it keeps ticking along, piling up the corpse counts... (SSP), is taking part in activities of a recently-formed group of religious organizations, Difa-e-Pakistain Council. ...and no suggestion of "banning" the Difa-e-Pakistain Council... The council recently attracted large crowds at some of its public meetings in different cities where it lambasted both Islamabad and Washington. The council may strongly react to the government's decision to ban one of its important members. ... probably by blowing something up or killing somebody or both... The AHF is a Soddy Arabia-based organization and also working in Pakistain. The official said the interior ministry had sent letters to the four provincial home secretaries, informing them about the ban on the three organizations. According to the BBC, ASWJ chief Maulana Ahmed Ludhyanvi expressed ignorance about any such ban. "No, no! Certainly not!" However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... he said if it was true he would opt for a legal fight. "We are a peaceful organization," he was quoted as saying. "If anyone places a ban on us...they are trying to place a ban on Pakistain." A document, which the BBC describes as a notification issued by the interior ministry that was not publicly announced, claimed that the ASWJ was suspected to be involved in acts of terrorism in the country and, therefore, it was being added to the first schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The organizations previously banned by the government are: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... , Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistain (banned on Aug 14, 2001), Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... , Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain, Tehrik-e-Jaafria Pakistain, Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi, Tehrik-e-Islami (on Jan 14, 2002), Al Qaeda (on March 17, 2003), Millat-e-Islamia Pakistain, Khuddam-ul-Islam, Islami Tehrik Pakistain (on Nov 15, 2003), Jamaat-ul-Ansar, Jamaat-ul-Furqan, Hizbut Tehrir (on Nov 20, 2003), Khair-un-Naas International Trust (on Oct 27, 2004), Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Liberation Army (on April 7, 2006), Islamic Students Movement of Pakistain (on Aug 21, 2006), Lashkar-e-Islam, Ansar-ul-Islam, Haji Namdar Group (on June 30, 2008), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (on Aug 25, 2008), Jamatud Daawa, Al-Akhtar Trust and Al-Rashid Trust (banned under the UNSC resolution 1267 on Dec 10, 2008), Shia Talba Action Committee, Markaz-e-Sabeel (Gilgit), Tanzeem Naujawan-e-Sunnat (Gilgit), People's Aman Committee, Balochistan Republican Army, Balochistan Liberation Front, Lashkar-e-Balochistan, Balochistan Liberation United Front and Balochistan Musallah Difa Tanzeem (banned in 2011). The fact that there are this many extremist organizations -- merely the ones that urgently need banning, not all of them -- is simply breath-taking. And for some reason the Paks see the problem as some sort of "hidden hand."

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India-Pakistan

Noose tightens around Hafiz Saeed, LT and Jamaatud Daawa

2008-12-13

The United Nations Security Council's Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee on Wednesday added the names of a host of Pakistani organisations and individuals -- including Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LT), Jamaatud Daawa (JD), the Al Rashid Trust, Al Akhtar International, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Haji Muhammad Ashraf -- to its consolidated list. Contrary to reports, Gen (r) Hamid Gul's name was not on the list. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed -- chief of LT -- was born in Sargodha in 1950, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in Okara in 1960 and Haji Muhammad Ashraf -- LT's chief of finance -- in 1965. Ashraf is listed as LT's chief of finance. The UN announcement says the LT is also known as Al Mansoorian, Paasban-e-Kashmir, Paasban-e-Ahl-e-Hadith. The Al Rashid Trust is said to be known as the Al Ameen Trust with branches in several Pakistani cities. While headquartered in Pakistan, its operations extend to Afghanistan, Kosovo and Chechnya, and the organisation is said to be involved in the financing of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Until October 21, this entity appeared also as the Aid Organisation of the Ulema Pakistan. Al Akhtar Trust International -- another sanctioned entity -- is also known as the Azmat-e-Pakistan Trust with regional offices in Bahawalpur, Bawalnagar, Gilgit, Islamabad, Mirpur Khas and Tando Jan Muhammad. It also runs the Akhtarabad Medical Camp in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan. US welcomes: On Wednesday, the US welcomed the development in a statement saying, "The US is pleased that the committee has decided to move forward on these high-priority designations."

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India-Pakistan

Pakistan tightens screws on Dawa

2008-12-13

Police shut down offices of Jamaatud Dawa and arrested scores of operatives as it continued a crackdown against the banned group on Friday, officials said. Islamabad Police sealed three offices of Jamaatud Daawa on Friday. One was near Masjid Quba in the I-8 Markaz and another in Street 35 in G-6/4, Chief Commissioner Kamran Lashari said. No arrests were made. Officials said the group had abandoned its G-6 office before the police raid. Later on Friday, police raided and sealed another office located on Korri Road near Shahzad Town, and arrested six suspected operatives. NWFP: Jamaatud Dawa officials in Peshawar said police had arrested 150 operatives in a province-wide operation and sealed 46 offices. Many workers have gone underground. Police closed the Jaamatud Dawa headquarters at Peshawar's Fawara Chowk late on Thursday. No arrests were made. Frontier Police also closed down offices of the banned Al Akhtar Trust and Al Rashid Trust in the Saddar, Hashtnagri, Gulbahar and Yakatoot areas of the city and in the rest of the province. Police raided an office, two schools and a religious seminary run by Jamaatud Dawa in Muzaffarabad, and placed its leader Abdul Aziz Alvi under house arrest. Rawalpindi: In Rawalpindi, police and other agencies sealed five offices of Jamaatud Dawa -- in Satellite Town, Kashmari Bazaar, Benazir Bhutto Road, Pindora and Tench Bhatta -- sources in the police said, but did not make any arrests. Lahore: In Lahore, divisional superintendents of police took surety bonds from the Jamaatud Dawa operatives, police sources told Daily Times. The Interior Ministry had issued detention orders for JD chief Hafiz Saeed, Ameer Hamza, Yahya Mujahid and Abu Umer Qazi. Saeed has been put under house arrest. The name of a second detained leader could not be confirmed. Police continued to search for the other two on Friday. Multan Police sealed a JD office at Rasheedabad Chowk, and a school and a dispensary on Tareen Road in a midnight operation. Police also sealed Jamaatud Dawa offices in south Punjab cities of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Arifwala, Bahawalnagar, Khanewal, and held one operative each from Arifwala and Rajanpur. Sindh: In Sindh, officials said they had arrested 11 operatives of the banned group and sealed six offices and six seminaries, but Jamaatud Dawa officials claimed 100 operatives had been held and 35 offices sealed. "Seven of the men and two of the seminaries belonged to Karachi," Sindh Special Secretary Collin Kamran Dost told Daily Times. Law enforcement agencies sealed a Jamaatud Dawa office and a library on New Zarghoon Road in Quetta late on Thursday. No arrests were made.

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India-Pakistan

US identifies new aliases of 2 blacklisted Pakistan-based groups

2008-07-03

The Bush administration on Wednesday accused two blacklisted Pakistan-based groups, operating under “new aliases”, of trying to evade financial sanctions. The Treasury Department identified numerous alleged aliases for Al Rashid Trust and Al Akhtar Trust International, two groups that the United States has previously accused of supporting Al Qaeda. Al Rashid was designated in September 2001 and Al Akhtar was put on the blacklist in October 2003. That action meant that any assets found in the US were frozen and Americans were barred from making donations and doing business with the groups. The department alleged that Al Rashid was now operating under other names, including Al Amin Welfare Trust and Al Ameen Trust, while Al Akhtar was using other names, including Pakistan Relief Foundation and Azmat Pakistan Trust. “We are very concerned about designated entities reconstituting themselves under new names in attempts to circumvent sanctions and continue funnelling money to terrorist activities,” said Treasury Office Foreign Assets Control Director Adam Szubin, which oversees the US financial sanctions programmes. “We will continue to put the public on notice when we find that a designated entity is trying to operate under the cloak of a new alias,” he said.

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India-Pakistan

Al-Rashid Trust to be monitored

2007-11-23

Police have started monitoring the activities of the banned "I do not think that word means what you think it means!" Al-Rashid Trust on the advice of intelligence agencies, police sources told Daily Times on Wednesday. They said the intelligence agencies had also asked the police to collect information about the assets and whereabouts of Al-Rashid Trust activists who had till now evaded check. The collected information may be used for a possible crack down on the Trust. “Intelligence reports have also claimed that activists of the trust were involved in ‘anti-state’ activity in the city,” they added.

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India-Pakistan

HBL froze banned charities' accounts before Daniel Pearl's abduction

2007-07-21

The Habib Bank Limited froze the accounts of Al-Rashid Trust before the abduction of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, and the account of Al-Akhtar Trust several years ago soon after these organisations were designated by the State Bank of Pakistan and instructions to freeze such accounts were issued to all banks, a press release said on Friday. Clarifying the bank’s position on a lawsuit filed against the bank and many other defendants in the United States, the press release said Habib Bank provides services to more than 5 million customers in Pakistan and abroad. It is the largest private sector bank in Pakistan with a history of 65 years, network of over 1,400 branches and a global presence in 23 countries. The bank conducts its operations in a professional manner and complies with the laws of each country in which it operates. The bank has a strong compliance programme under which customer due diligence is strictly carried out including verification of customer credentials. It fully complies with the account monitoring and reporting requirements of the regulators in Pakistan and abroad. The statement said that Habib Bank’s New York Branch is upgrading its systems and procedures and is complying fully with a written agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York State Banking Department. Those agencies did not impose a fine on the Bank. The bank will vigorously contest the lawsuit, the statement added.

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India-Pakistan

UNSC body bothered by Al-Rashid re-opening

2007-05-07

The UNSC Sanction Committee on Taliban and Al Qaeda has shown concern over a Sindh High Court (SHC) verdict which had reportedly allowed banned outfit Al-Rashid Trust to reopen its offices as well as publication of its Urdu daily Islam, sources in the Foreign Office, asking not to be named, told Daily Times. The sources said that a visiting delegation of the committee led by Mr Barrot met FO officials on Saturday and made queries on the SHC verdict issued on April 26. FO spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam confirmed to Daily Times that the committee had a meeting with FO officials, but denied that the delegation had expressed concern on the SHC verdict. “They only made some queries on the issue,” she said, adding that it was a routine visit and the committee delegation had appreciated Pakistan’s role in the fight against terrorism. “We think that the SHC’s decision has been misreported in the media because the court only allowed the trust to distribute eatable items which were decaying,” she said. Aslam refused to comment on the delegation’s reported objection to the publication of Daily Islam from Islamabad and other cities. The sources said that the UN delegation also held meetings with officials of two intelligences agencies regarding the activities of the Taliban and Al Qaeda activists along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

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India-Pakistan

Al-Rashid Trust plans to work under new name

2007-04-29

The banned Al Rashid Welfare Trust is planning to continue its relief activities in the quake-hit areas under the cover of another charity organisation, Al Amin Welfare Trust, Daily Times learnt on Saturday. The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed the government on Thursday to partially lift the ban on the trust to enable it to distribute perishable food items and life-saving drugs among needy people, especially in the quake-affected areas. Sources in the trust told Daily Times that they had started relief activities after the SHC orders and were now considering forming another charity organisation to continue their relief work to avoid a repetition of past events. Earlier, the interior ministry had banned Al Rashid and Al Akhtar Welfare Trusts and frozen their bank accounts/assets on February 18. The Karachi-based head office of Al Rashid Trust and its 28 offices and sub-offices were also sealed.

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