Pakistan puts JuD, FIF in proscribed list

Pakistan on Tuesday night put Jamaat-ul-Da'awa (JuD) and its sister-organisation Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), which are the front organisations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit, in the banned list under Anti Terrorism Act 1997.

However, there has still been no new action against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which is banned since January 14, 2002.

JuD and FIF were put in the proscribed list of 70 organisations by Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority just a day after they had been placed "under watch" by the same authority.

There has been mounting global pressure against Pakistan to cease providing support and a safe haven to terror outfits and terrorists on its soil, following the February 14 attack in Pulwama, which claimed the life of over 40 CRPF personnel.

Pakistan had proscribed JeM during the rule of General Pervez Musharraf but the outfit has been lately operating openly and its chief Masood Azhar roaming about freely.

Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently noted that the cash-strapped nation has not demonstrated "a proper understanding of the terror financing risks posed by" a number of groups, including JeM.

FATF's International Cooperation Review Group has expressed dissatisfaction over the progress made by Pakistan to curb terror financing as per the milestones set for January 2019.

The FATF further "showed concern" regarding the Pakistani authorities' inability to prove why it considered eight proscribed entities, including the JeM, as low risk, in contrast to the high-risk view undertaken by FATF's Asia Pacific Joint Group and the ICRG.

If Pakistan fails to meet with its commitments to the FATF in curbing terror financing, it may be put on the blacklist by September 2019, according to Dawn.