Pakistan to ban all organisations on UN blacklist

Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said Wednesday the government will ensure that all proscribed organisations mentioned in the UN's blacklist are banned within the next few days, media reported.

"There is some confusion regarding the list of banned outfits but I want to make it clear that the government will ban all proscribed organisations mentioned in the blacklist of the United Nations, as Pakistan is a signatory of the UN," Dawn online quoted the minister as saying in the National Assembly Wednesday.

Nisar underscored that the government would not ban an organisation under pressure from any country, including the US and India.

He, however, said Pakistan would fulfil its obligations as a signatory of the UN.

"According to the procedure, the ministry of foreign affairs writes to the ministry of interior to put a ban on an organisation after the UN announcement to include such proscribed organisations in the blacklist," the minister added.

A day before, the minister had directed Secretary Interior Shahid Khan to coordinate with the ministry of foreign affairs to reconcile a "national list" of proscribed organisations according to the UN blacklist.

He said that the government had launched an operation against militants June 16 last year -- following the Karachi airport attack by militants that left at least 32 people dead -- with the backing of all political parties present in Parliament.

The minister also said that military courts were set up by the government after the support of all parliamentary parties in the wake of the Peshawar school attack Dec 16 that left over 140 students and staff dead.