Government takes control of JuD, FIF headquarters in Lahore

Days after Pakistan launched a crackdown on all proscribed organisations, the provincial government of Punjab on Friday took control of Jamia Masjid Qadsia Chauburji, headquarters of banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat (FIF) in Lahore.

The measures were taken in accordance with the provision laid down by the National Action Plan (NAP).

Dunya News cited a statement issued by the Punjab Home Department, saying that the NAP is being implemented in the province and the government is taking over the control of Maddrassas, hospitals and other facilities of proscribed organisations and the pace of actions will accelerate.

A day after Pakistan said that 44 activists of various outfits and individuals, including the brother and the son of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, were taken into "preventive detention", the Punjab government had sealed or taken over the administrative control of scores of establishments run by JuD and FIF.

Addressing a press conference, Pakistan's Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi on Tuesday had said that the objective behind the crackdown was to ensure that Pakistan's soil is not used for terror activities in any way.

Quoting a statement from the Pakistan Ministry of Interior, Geo News reported that the decision for the preventive decision was taken during a high-level meeting on Monday.

The action, claimed by Pakistan, comes amidst intense world pressure on Imran Khan-led government to act against terror outfits, particularly in the wake of Pulwama terror attack, after India mounted a diplomatic campaign in this regard. Since then, the US has been pushing Pakistan to take concrete action.