Decision reversal in Pak Anti-Terrorism Act is dangerous: Congress

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Saturday condemned the Pakistan government's decision to reverse its order on suspected links with terrorists and removal of names from the Anti-terrorism Act and stated that it might be dangerous for our nation, as it has a direct bearing.

"They (Pakistan) have an Anti-terrorism Act and it has a Fourth Schedule which contains names that are doubtful and maybe involved in terrorist activities. Their passports were taken away and were stopped from going outside. Some Muslim religious heads are apparently wrongly influencing the people," he said.

Stressing on the fact that such removal can spell danger for India, he said, "Some innocent people are also involved, if their names are removed, we have nothing to say. But, what raises suspicion is that some of those people are directly advocating terrorism from the seminaries and centers and are directly involved in terrorism. If those names are removed from the Act, it might be dangerous and ring danger bells for us. Let's see what happens ahead and how the government acts."

The Pakistan government has decided to reverse its earlier decision of blocking the national identity cards and passports of individuals suspected of links to militant, sectarian, or proscribed organizations and are included in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997.

Pakistan Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan made it clear that citizenship of suspected terrorists included in the fourth schedule of the anti-terrorism law could not be taken away.

He added that religious seminaries played a pivotal role in re-establishing peace in the country hence no one would be allowed to target them under any pretext.

Prominent names on the list include some well-known religious personalities.