Seizure of fourth schedulers’ properties ordered

LAHORE: For compliance with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, the Home Department, Punjab, has directed the Excise and Taxation Department Punjab to seize identified properties of 1,415 fourth schedulers, The News has learnt.

According to documents available with The News, a list of more than 1,400 forth schedulers has been shared with the director general, Excise and Taxation Department (ETD). The DG has said in a letter that on the recommendation of the Home Department regarding tracing/freezing of the properties of persons on the list of fourth schedule, action should be taken.

Some ETD directors have admitted that they have issued directions to all assessing authorities that no transaction in respect of change of ownership and granting NOCs should be done. The government of Punjab has issued the list of fourth schedulers including their names, addresses, their home districts and CNICs to all ETD directors. In the letter, it was said that it was an FATF matter and must be given top priority.

The fourth schedule is a list on which suspects of terrorism and sectarianism are placed under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997. The names of fourth schedulers are referred to police and law-enforcement agencies for their effective monitoring. If a fourth scheduler wants to move somewhere, he has to inform police.

A source in the Home Department said the assets of fourth schedulers have been frozen under the law and their national identity cards and bank accounts blocked. Additionally, their names would be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) by the Interior Ministry.

The fourth schedulers would not be able to sell properties including seminaries, agricultural land, etc. They could not transfer moveable and immovable properties, said the source.