Pakistan has decided to outlaw 88 members of terrorist organizations, including 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim and 26/11 Mumbai attacks accused Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi in compliance with the new list issued by the UNSC.
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Experts believe that Pakistan is looking to evade possible blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). FATF was scheduled to review Pakistan’s actions in June but the Paris-based watchdog delayed the deadline by four months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier, Islamabad had issued two statutory regulatory orders on August 18 to enforce UNSC sanctions against hundreds of terrorists, including members of terror groups including of LeT, JeM, al-Qaeda, Taliban, Haqqani Network, and the ISIS.
Pakistan, as per Indian experts, has failed to meet FATF’s deadlines to implement a 27-point action plan, and the organization has warned of sterner measures since Islamabad has only addressed 14 of the 27 pointers.
Besides Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the seven other LeT operatives named in the notification are Hafiz Saeed, Haji Muhammad Ashraf, the chief of finance, Mahmoud Mohammad Ahmed Bahaziq, a Saudi national and leader of LeT in Saudi Arabia, Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi, deputy to Hafiz Saeed, Zafar Iqbal, co-founder of the group, Mohammed Yahya Mujahid, a former spokesperson, and Arif Qasmani, who was linked with al-Qaeda.
The first notification also comprised JeM chief Masood Azhar, and Abdur Rehman, who facilitated and provided financial support to al-Qaeda and was linked with Harakat-ul-Jihad Islami (HuJI) and JeM.
The list also includes Dawood Ibrahim, wanted by India for the 1993 Mumbai bombings, and gives three different addresses in Karachi given for him by the UN Security Council. This is probably the first time that Pakistani has officially acknowledged the presence of Dawood Ibrahim in the country.
The second notification included top Taliban and Haqqani Network leaders line Abdul Ghani Baradar, Siraj Haqqani, Bakht Gul and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai. Baradar and Stanekzai are key members of the Taliban team that is negotiating a peace deal with the US.
