Govt bans Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation

Last updated on: 21 February,2019 11:57 pm

JuD and FIF are considered by the UN to be fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - The government on Thursday gave approval to ban two groups during National Security Council (NSC) meeting.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation were designated "proscribed organisations", the interior ministry said in a statement, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan had ordered officials to accelerate action against banned groups.

JuD and FIF are considered by the UN to be fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group accused by Washington and New Delhi of carrying out the Mumbai attack, which killed 166 people.

The latest move against JuD and FIF comes amid heightened tensions in South Asia.

Islamabad began seizing the group’s assets last year after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) -- a global anti-money laundering watchdog -- listed Pakistan on a watchlist of countries not doing enough to combat terror financing.

The FATF is expected to announce its latest set of recommendations on Friday.