DUBAI: An Emirati state minister on Friday welcomed changes to Qatar’s anti-terror legislation as a “positive” step in the crisis between Doha and four Arab neighbours which accuse it of backing extremists.

Qatar announced a decree by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani late on Thursday establishing two nominal lists of individuals and terrorist entities, and the requirements for being included in them.

It also defined terrorists, terrorist crimes, terrorist entities as well as the financing of terrorism.

The decree follows the signing on July 11 of a US-Qatar agreement to combat terror funding during a visit to Doha by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to try to defuse the Gulf crisis.

However, the four Arab countries at odds with Doha dismissed that deal as “insufficent”.

On Friday, the UAE state minister for foreign affairs welcomed the latest Qatar move.

“It is a positive step to deal seriously with the list of 59 terrorists,” Anwar Gargash said in a tweet. “The pressure linked to the crisis has begun to bear fruit.” But Gargash, repeated his demands for Qatar to reorient its policies in order to ease the crisis with its Arab neighbours.

“It would be wiser (for Qatar) to totally change its (political) orientation,” he said.

The dispute erupted when regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt broke ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of backing extremism. Doha denies the claim.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2017