December 24, 2008	Wednesday	Zilhaj 25, 1429

WASHINGTON, Dec 23: A senior UN official has said that Pakistan has extended full cooperation in implementing UN sanctions against Jamaatud Dawa and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Richard Barrett, the Coordinator of Security Council’s Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Committee, told CNN-IBN in New York that the United Nations had received “across-the-board” cooperation from all Pakistani civil and military agencies.

The committee is responsible for monitoring sanctions imposed by the Security Council on individuals and organisations declared terrorist.

Mr Barrett said he found “very good atmosphere of cooperation” in all his dealings with officials in Pakistan, “whether it’s the government, elected officials, ministries, the intelligence services or the army”.

He also acknowledged that it’s “very difficult to implement the sanctions completely but the Pakistani government is working to ensure fruitful compliance”.

Mr Barrett is expected to visit Islamabad soon to make an assessment of Pakistan’s actions so far and what more needed to be done.

Mr Barrett had earlier said the Security Council had the power to take action against nations if they were found to be not taking action against individuals and organisations branded as terrorists.

Acting after the United Nations declared the Jamaatud Dawa a terrorist group and a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba Pakistan has sealed all of its offices, arrested scores of activists and put its entire leadership under house arrest.