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After saying it will, Pakistan does not ban Hafiz Saeed's JuD & FiF

WION
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaWritten By: Sidhant SibalUpdated: Mar 04, 2019, 05:20 PM IST
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File photo of Hafiz Saeed. Photograph:(Reuters)

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Pakistan had promised to ban them on February 21 but has instead placed on the 'under watch' list. 

Pakistan's flip-flop on terror continues with an updated list of terrorist organisations in the country saying 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed's Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat (FiF) have not been banned. The list, issued by the Pakistani Interior Ministry's NACTA or National Counter-Terrorism Authority of Pakistan on March 4, lists the JuD and FiF as organisations "under watch".

Pakistan had on February 21 Pakistan said the JuD and FiF will be notified as proscribed or banned organisations. 

The banning was decided after a national security committee meeting held under the chairmanship of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. "It was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against proscribed organisations," a Pakistani interior ministry spokesperson said. 

The announcement of the promised ban came during the Financial Action Task Force or FATF meet in Paris from February 17 to 22 at which Pakistan was put under tremendous pressure to act on terror.  

FATF had slammed Islamabad in a statement after the week-long meet, saying that the country has not demonstrated a "proper understanding" of the terror-financing risks posed by Islamic State, Al Qaeda, JuD, FiF, LeT, JeM, HQN, and persons affiliated with the Taliban.

Pakistan was greylisted by the FATF in 2018.

Speaking to WION on Pakistan's commitment to acting on terror financing, FATF president Marshall Billingslea said, "We will hold them to it and we expect the time table to be met and action plan to be fully implemented in line with FATF standards." 

In the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack which killed more than 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan and the EU have called on Pakistan to act on terror.