Pakistan is working on a draft bill to permanently ban Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud Dawa as well as other terror groups and individuals on the watch list of the interior ministry, a move which has the backing of the powerful military establishment.
The bill will replace the presidential ordinance that banned outfits and people already on the watch list of the interior ministry, Dawn reported on Sunday, 8 April.
Citing its sources in the law ministry, the daily reported that the proposed draft bill to amend the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, was likely to be tabled in the upcoming session of the National Assembly scheduled to commence on Monday, 9 April.
The law ministry was involved in the process for the purpose of vetting the proposed draft bill, the sources said, adding that the military establishment was also on board.
The powerful military establishment enjoys considerable influence over policy decisions in Pakistan.
The government decided to prepare a draft bill to amend the ATA as part of its damage-control campaign after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) approved a nomination proposal tabled jointly by the US, the UK, France and Germany to place Pakistan on the international watchdog's money-laundering and terror-financing grey list in February.
Earlier, President Mamnoon Hussain had promulgated the ordinance amending the ATA to include entities listed by the UNSC as proscribed groups but it will expire in 120 days.
The National Assembly can extend it for another four months after which it has to be tabled before both the houses – National Assembly and the Senate – for further extension.
The presidential ordinance has already been challenged by Saeed in the Islamabad High Court. He claimed that the ordinance had been promulgated due to external pressure and hence was not only prejudicial to the sovereignty but also contradictory to the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.
Saeed was listed under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.
His JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT, which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people. It has been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014.
When contacted, Barrister Zafarullah Khan, special assistant to the prime minister, said that the amendment to the ATA was a subject of the interior ministry. He added the law would not introduce anything new, as it would basically ensure compliance to the UNSC Resolutions.
(This article has been shortened for length)
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