,Pakistan has issued an official order to freeze the assets of and impose a travel ban on JeM chief Masood Azhar after the UN declared him a “global terrorist”.
Pakistan-basedAzhar is also banned from selling or purchasing arms and ammunition.
The UN sanctions committee on the IslamicState and Al-Qaeda on Wednesday announced the designation of Azhar, leader ofJaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), over its ties to Al-Qaeda.
The JeM has claimed responsibility for thePulwama suicide attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers and led to a spike inmilitary tensions between India and Pakistan.
The Security and Exchange Commission ofPakistan (SECP) ordered all non-banking financial institutions and regulatingauthorities on Thursday to block all investment accounts of Azhar.
The SECP ordered that all companies shouldscan their data and inform the SECP within three days about the necessaryaction being taken against the accounts of Azhar.
An official of interior ministry said thatAzhar was already on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorist Act (ATA) andcould not travel without permission of the police. He was also barred fromhaving any weapons due to the listing under the ATA.
His name was also already on the list ofproscribed persons maintained by the National Anti-Terrorist Authority (NACTA).According to Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal, Pakistan would fullycooperate with the international community. Pakistan’s foreign ministry, in anotification issued Wednesday said: “The Federal Government is pleased toorder that the Resolution 2368 (2017) be fully implemented” against Azhar.
The government directed officials to takeactions “as appropriate for the implementation of sanctions” againstthe JeM chief, according to the notification.
The UN designated Azhar as a “globalterrorist” after China lifted its hold on a proposal by the US, the UK andFrance to blacklist him. The US, the UK and France had moved the proposal todesignate Azhar as a “global terrorist” in the UN Security Council’s1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee in February, just days after the deadlyPulwama attack carried out by the JeM in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan foreign office spokesman MohammadFaisal on Wednesday said that Pakistan would “immediately enforce thesanctions” imposed on Azhar. A veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC,China was the sole hold-out in the 15-nation body on the bid to blacklistAzhar, blocking attempts by placing a “technical hold” and asking for”more time to examine” the proposal. PTI