LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan re-imposed a ban on two charities run by a U.S.-designated terrorist blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, officials said Friday.
The Interior Ministry said it decided on the ban during a meeting with by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday in which it resolved to implement a 20-point National Action Plan to counter terrorism more effectively.
The two charities - Jamat-ut-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation - are thought to be a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group founded by Hafiz Saeed, a Muslim cleric who lives freely in Pakistan and often addresses anti-India rallies.
They were banned last February, and the government froze their assets in compliance with a U.N. request. But Pakistan’s Supreme Court in September allowed them to resume operations.
The U.S. has placed a $10 million bounty on Saeed’s head. Lashker-e-Taiba has been blamed for the Mumbai attacks.
Also Friday, the administration of Punjab province took control of As-Sabir Seminary and Subhanallah Mosque in the city of Bahawalpur. A senior official said the two Islamic institutions were said to be linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad, the militant group India has blamed for the recent attack in Pulwama in the disputed Kashmir region. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.
State-run Pakistan Television reported that the government has appointed administrators for the two institutions where 600 students are being instructed on Islam by 70 teachers.
The Pulwama suicide attack on a military convoy killed more than 40 Indian troops and escalated tensions between the two nuclear-armed south Asian neighbors. India says the attack was planned in Pakistan, which Pakistan strongly denies.
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