JuD cases

Pakistan has been doing its bit to counter terror financing in recent months – however, international actors such as the FATF have continued to ask for more. The issue of the Jamaatud Dawa has continued to come up repeatedly. For its part, Pakistan banned JuD in February as well as took over many of its assets and accounts. Nonetheless, there had been questions over whether these measures would lead to any real and sustainable action against the organisation as well as its leadership. This week, the Counter Terrorism Department has tried to allay any suspicions. In a crackdown which the counter-terrorism department says is intended to cripple the JuD and other non-profit organizations linked to it the leader of the group Hafiz Saeed has been booked in 23 cases of terror financing and money laundering. Twelve other top leaders of the JuD and Lashkar-e-Taiba have also been booked after the CTD said it had found links between them and groups which collected huge funds and properties in the country to finance terrorism.

Formal investigations are continuing and the CTD says that the JuD, the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation as well as other entities associated with them will be made ‘fully dysfunctional’ after relevant punitive and legal actions. The non-profits had been banned in April after investigations by counter terrorism authorities in Pakistan. It is also not insignificant that the move comes a short while ahead of Imran Khan’s first visit to the US as prime minister and a scheduled summit with US President Donald Trump. The important five-day visit is scheduled to begin from July 20. Washington, joining voices with New Delhi, has for months being seeking action against Hafiz Saeed and his associates.

The objective now should be to cripple these organisations. The state needs to show an understanding of the fact that the presence of such groups and their fronts on our soil costs Pakistan diplomatic capital. The country continues to suffer in international forums after allegations of supporting terrorism come up. This is why one must wonder how far the government is ready to go against the JuD. In the last meeting of the FATF Asia-Pacific Group, Pakistan was told in no uncertain terms that it would have to clamp down on the organisation. With JuD’s past history of impunity, there were questions over what Pakistan would do with it once out of the deep water with the FATF. The kind of action the CTD is taking is exactly what is needed. Had Pakistan taken this action at the right moment, the kind of clampdown on bank accounts happening in the country today may not be taking place. What is now hoped is that our counter-terrorism authorities have gathered enough evidence to put these organisations out of commission for good. It will be crucial to ensure that anti-terrorism courts are presented with air-tight cases against these organizations. One can hope that this is the start of the end of organisations that have given Pakistan needless notoriety in the international arena.