NEW DELHI: Pakistan on Friday announced that the Punjab government has taken administrative control of a mosque-and-seminary complex in Bahawalpur believed to have been the headquarters of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
The action comes hours after the Financial Action Task Force, a Paris-based intergovernmental body tasked with countering terrorist funding and money laundering, said it “notes with grave concern and condemns the violent terrorist attack last week that killed at least 40 Indian security forces in Pulwama in the State of J&K,” and refused to take Pakistan off its “grey list”.
It also comes a day after the UN Security Council, despite attempts by China to block it, strongly condemned last week’s “heinous” terrorist attack on Pulwama “for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility.”
A day later, China continued to defend the Jaish, claiming the UNSC statement was only in “general terms” and “does not represent a judgement”. While there was no formal Indian reaction, a senior official privately described the latest Pakistani move as “yet another sick joke”. “Even if they arrest (Lashkar-e-Toiba chief) Hafiz Saeed and (JeM chief) Masood Azhar now to show their apparent sincerity in tackling terror, they will probably still be released within weeks, like they have been several times earlier.”
The crackdown
The Punjab govt has taken control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, reportedly the headquarters of JeM led by Masood Azhar, and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs, Pakistan’s interior ministry said. The campus has 70 faculty and 600 students
FATF urges Pak to address strategic deficiencies
ON Friday, the FATF, which had placed Pakistan on its grey list in June 2018, said, “Pakistan should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies” in countering terror financing. “Given the limited progress on action plan items due in January 2019, the FATF urges Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan, particularly those with timelines of May 2019,” it said.
New Delhi had been pushing to get Pakistan moved up to the FATF’s Black list, which would have made it even more difficult for Islamabad to get international funds.
A day before the announcement, Pakistan’s National Security Committee had reinstated a ban on the Jamaatud Dawa and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation, the social and political outfits of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba headed by Hafiz Saeed, and authorized accelerated action against extremist groups in the country.
The Dawn, a Pakistan newspaper, in a report Friday evening quoted a government spokesperson as saying that “The Government of Punjab has taken over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, reportedly the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad, and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs.”
However, “A local source in Bahawalpur could not confirm any physical movement or changes in the security set-up around the campus,” it added. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday urged ASEAN and the international community to support India’s fight against terrorists and terrorist organisations.