Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May introduced the order, which needs legislative approval, in parliament on Monday and it will be debated later this week. – Reuters (File Photo)

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is the group most influenced by al Qaeda and is the main militant alliance based in northwestern Pakistan, focusing on attacking the Pakistani state, which it considers illegitimate.

Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May introduced the order, which needs legislative approval, in parliament on Monday and it will be debated later this week. The order would ban Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan under the British Terrorism Act.

“Proscription is a tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not a course of action we take lightly,” said a statement from May whose order states she believes the group “is concerned in terrorism”.

“Proscription means that membership of Tehrik-e-Taliban will become a criminal offence, and the organisation will not be able to lawfully operate in the UK, including by raising funds.”

Last year, the group threatened attacks on the United States and Europe.

It also claimed responsibility for an attack last July in Mohmand, a region on Pakistan's northwestern border with Afghanistan which killed 102 people and wounded at least 80.

Last October, a Pakistani intelligence official said a British man killed by a US drone strike in Pakistan had ties with a Pakistani-born US citizen who tried to set off a car bomb in New York's busy Times Square in May.

The official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters the Briton, Abdul Jabbar, had also been in the process of setting up a branch for the Taliban in Britain.

Forty-six groups considered by Britain to be international terrorist organisations are banned under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Opinion

Editorial

Impending slaughter
Updated 07 May, 2024

Impending slaughter

Seven months into the slaughter, there are no signs of hope.
Wheat investigation
07 May, 2024

Wheat investigation

THE Shehbaz Sharif government is in a sort of Catch-22 situation regarding the alleged wheat import scandal. It is...
Naila’s feat
07 May, 2024

Naila’s feat

IN an inspirational message from the base camp of Nepal’s Mount Makalu, Pakistani mountaineer Naila Kiani stressed...
Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
Updated 06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

If the judiciary had the power to self-regulate, it ought to have exercised it instead of involving the legislature.