Thursday, December 11, 2008

Pakistan Tows UN Line, Bans JuD


With diplomatic pressures mounting in the aftermath of the terror attack on Mumbai, Pakistan on Thursday said it would abide by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decision to brand Jamiat ud Da’wa (JuD) and four of its key leaders as terrorists and ban the organisation.

The UNSC has banned JuD, imposing sanctions on the outfit and four of its leaders, including JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and LeT operational head Zaki-ur-Rehman.

JuD is understood to be a front of the dreaded Lashkar-e-Tayeba, which has been blamed for a series on terror attacks in India, including the recent attack in Mumbai. which killed nearly a hundred people and injured scores of others.

Reacting to the development, Islamabad's envoy to the United Nations, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, told Geo TV: "Pakistan will abide by the (UNSC) committee's decisions."

Haroon, however, claimed the UN Security Council committee did not contact Pakistani mission in the US with regard to imposing sanctions on the Pakistani citizens and organisations.

The UN's committee had reviewed many names even before he assumed ambassadorship, Haroon told the channel.

Besides Saeed and Lakhvi, the two top leaders of the LeT declared terrorists by the UNSC are Haji Muhammad Ashraf and Zaki-ur-Bahaziq, both financiers of the terrorist outfit.

The Council also asked UN member States to freeze assets of the four LeT commanders and imposed travel ban and arms embargo on them.

UPDATEFollowing the imposition of UN Security Council sanctions on JuD, Pakistan Security officials sealed offices belonging to the organization and placed its chief, Hafiz Saeed, under house arrest and said all offices of the outfit would be closed.

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