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Headlines

Pakistan seizes seminaries, assets of Saeed's JuD, charity arm

Islamabad, March 6

At least two seminaries and assets belonging to Hafiz Saeed's proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its charity arm Falah-e-Insaniyat (FIF) has been taken over by the Pakistan government as it intensified its crackdown on Wednesday against Islamist groups in the wake of the Kashmir suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF troopers.

The operation, launched by the law enforcement agencies under the National Action Plan, came a day after Pakistan formally placed the proscribed organisations in the list of banned organisations, Dawn News reported.

The crackdown began amid tensions between India and Pakistan after the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for the February 14 bombing. The incident resulted in mounting pressure from the international community on Islamabad to act on terror groups based on its soil. 

The Pakistan government on Tuesday arrested the brother and son of JeM chief Masood Azhar along with 42 others affiliated with the banned terror groups. 

Reports say that in Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority list, which was updated on Tuesday, the JuD and FIF were among 70 organisations proscribed by the Ministry of Interior under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

According to Dawn, major action was taken in Punjab's Chakwal and Attock districts after the additional Chief Secretary of the region told commissioners and divisional police heads to seize the assets.

Later, the seminaries of JuD situated in Chakwal - Madrasa Khalid bin Waleed in the Talagang area and Madrasa Darus Salam on Chakwal's Railway Road - along with their staff were placed at the disposal of the Punjab government's Auqaf Department.

In Attock district, the management and operational control of three properties were taken over by the district administration. 

An ambulance of FIF was also taken over by the authorities. 

A senior police official of Rawalpindi told Dawn that the government had not given any specific directive regarding the crackdown as actions were also being carried out by other security agencies under the NAP.