Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan banned Jamaat ud-Dawa, an Islamic charity linked to a militant group blamed for last month’s Mumbai attack, ordering police to seal its offices and arrest members.
The government decided to impose the ban with immediate effect, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said in a phone interview from Islamabad. The Interior Ministry later issued a statement saying the charity’s bank accounts had been frozen, its offices sealed and leaders had been put under house arrest.
A United Nations Security Council panel placed sanctions on four members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group accused of plotting the attack, and said Jammat ud-Dawa was one of its front organizations.
Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi, identified by India as the chief plotter of the attack, and Lashkar’s founder, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, were among the four men listed for sanctions, including an asset freeze and travel ban, according to the U.S. State Department.
The Security Council’s al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee, acting after requests from India and the U.S., described the Pakistan-based charity Jamaat ud-Dawa as an alias for Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“These actions will limit the ability of known terrorists to travel, acquire weapons, plan, carry out, or raise funds for new terrorist attacks,” the State Department said.
Pakistani Arrests
Lakhvi is among at least 16 people arrested by Pakistani authorities after the Nov. 26-29 assault on Mumbai that left 164 people dead. The U.S. Treasury Department earlier this year described him as an important fundraiser and trainer for Lashkar e-Taiba, which means the Army of the Pure.
Haji Muhammad Ashraf, the group’s finance chief, and Mahmoud Mohammad Ahmed Bahaziq, a fundraiser, were among those targeted. The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on all four in May.
The UN sanctions committee also listed aliases for the Al Rashid and Al Akhtar Trusts, which have raised funds for Lashkar.
Jamaat ud-Dawa, which means Society of the Call, was spun off from Lashkar as a religious foundation when the militant group was banned by Pakistan’s government in 2002.
Abdul Rehman Naqi, a spokesman for the group, said today the decision to impose sanctions was “one-sided and without any investigations.” In a telephone call from the eastern city of Lahore, he described Jamaat ud-Dawa as a “welfare organization” and denied it was linked to Lashkar.
Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said yesterday the sophistication of the attack on Mumbai indicated Lashkar-e-Taiba can operate at a “much higher level” than military officials previously thought.
Mullen praised Pakistan’s government for taking what he called the “first steps” toward shutting down the group.
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