LAHORE: Acting swiftly on a notification issued by the federal government, Punjab has started taking over all the moveable and immovable assets of the Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) and the Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) operating in the province. The JuD’s famous Muridke Markaz along with its various schools, seminaries and health facilities was also taken over on Wednesday. There were similar reports from everywhere else in the province, as well as in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
The action is being taken in pursuance of an ordinance issued by President Mamnoon Hussain last week, amending the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, and allowing the state to proscribe UNSC-listed organisations, some of which had been exempt from prosecution. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah says a recent notification issued by the interior ministry reveals that JuD and FIF could no longer operate in the country, and that all their moveable and immoveable assets should be seized.
However, a senior government official said that Auqaf Department officials would monitor the mosques, and their khateebs and imams would not be changed, at least for the time being. Meanwhile, JuD spokesperson Yahya Mujahid expressed serious concerns over the government’s move. He announced that they would take the matter to court. In a statement issued on Wednesday, he alleged, “the government is taking possession of our educational institutes, ambulances, dispensaries and other assets to please India and America.” He regretted that their party chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and other leaders had been detained without any reason last year and now their relief projects were being shut down across the country to the disadvantage of thousands of poor, orphans, widows and the needy.