KARACHI: The Sindh government has asked Islamabad to provide it lists of the banned religious outfits, which are ‘re-emerging’ with new nomenclature, in order to enable the provincial government to effectively curb their activities, it emerged on Sunday.

Officials said the provincial home department had requested the federal ministry of interior to provide detailed lists and other related information about the activities of the banned organisations, which had never become dormant despite having been slapped with repeated bans.

“Such organisations are not to be allowed [to hold] public gatherings or meetings. Action is being planned against such proscribed outfits which have re-emerged with new names or titles,” said a senior official in the home department while speaking to Dawn.

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At a recent briefing given to Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, decisions were made to take action against office-bearers and activists of such organisations, said officials.

Three committees titled execution, intelligence and media, which were subservient to the so-called Apex Committee, had been entrusted the task to supervise the operations against such groups, they said. In a decision taken at the meeting, the provincial government asked the authorities concerned to regularly update data on such groups and individuals and share it with the National Counter-terrorism Authority (Nacta) and the provinces.

On their part, officials said, the provincial authorities had identified and listed 60 religious outfits in Sindh, 67 militants had been killed and 26 had been arrested during three months of the current year.

They said the authorities had recovered 2,574 weapons in three months during action against illegal and legal weapons. To make it difficult for militants hiding in thickly populated areas of Karachi, the Sindh government had notified the Sindh Information of Temporary Residence Ordinance 2015, however, more legislation was under way requiring tenant and buyer of a property to seek no-objection certificate from local administration including the police station concerned and utilities of gas and electricity, said officials.

Besides, Sindh has also decided to ask Islamabad to reactivate and establish links of Pakistan Automated Finger Identification System between provinces and Islamabad.

In addition, the National Database and Registration Authority had been asked to provide details of registered refugees residing in Karachi and other districts of Sindh, they said.

Media space to banned groups

Officials said the provincial government was taking measures to discourage media from giving space to individuals associated with the banned groups.

For this, they added, the media committee of the Apex Committee had held two meetings with its members and met once with the representatives of the cable operators and All Pakistan Newspapers Society.

“We are taking measures to ensure that media interviews of members of such banned organisations are discouraged,” said an official.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2015

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