ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: The government on Sunday sealed all offices of Al Rashid Trust and Al Akhtar Trust across the country, froze their bank accounts and seized computer disks, books, literature and photographs in compliance with a United Nations Security Council resolution banning these organisations for their alleged links with terrorist networks, a senior official of the interior ministry told Dawn.

“We have not banned these organisations. But to comply with obligations of the UN, which has already banned them, we are taking action against them,” National Crisis Management Cell’s Director-General Brig Javed Iqbal Cheema said.“We have sealed over 50 offices of the two trusts, frozen their bank accounts and stopped their operations throughout the country, besides banning their advertisements seeking donations,” Brig Cheema said.

He said the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee had banned Al Rashid Trust and Al Akhtar Trust in 2001 and 2005, respectively, and Pakistan was under an obligation to take an action.

He rejected the impression that the action was being taken against the two outfits for their alleged links with a recent spate of suicide bombings across the country.

“No we have not found any such evidence,” he said.

Brig Cheema said that Pakistan had requested the UNSC to lift the ban on the two trusts after they played a significant role in the rescue and rehabilitation operations in the areas hit by Oct 8, 2005, earthquake, but the request had been turned down.

The official said the action against the charity organisations had been taken by the federal government level after the UN imposition of the ban.

“Now the action is being taken at the provincial level and we have directed the provincial governments to do so,” he said.

Another official of the interior ministry told Dawn on condition of anonymity that there had been reports that the two organisations were providing money to some militant groups involved in illegal activities.

A spokesman for the Al Rashid Trust said in a press release that the trust was consulting its lawyers to challenge the government action in a court.

He said President Gen Pervez Musharraf had appreciated services of the Al Rashid Trust for the victims of the earthquake. He said thousands of the trust’s beneficiaries would suffer because of the government action.

KARACHI: Eleven offices of two charity organisations had been sealed across the city, a senior official of the provincial home department told Dawn on Sunday.

A spokesman for the Al-Rasheed Trust, Altaf Hussain, said a total of 28 offices of the trust had been closed across the country, of which seven were located in Karachi.

“Our offices located on I.I. Chundrigar Road, Clifton, Jodia Bazaar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Nazimabad, SITE and Tariq Road have been sealed,” he said.

“We are consulting our lawyers to move the court on this issue,” said Mr Hussain.

A spokesman for the Al Akhtar Trust said police had sealed four of their offices in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Malir and Clifton.

HYDERABAD: The Cantonment police sealed offices of the Al Rashid Trust in the Al-Rahim Shopping Centre's mezzanine floor on Sunday.

Police raided the office, sealed it and seized a few computer disks, books, literature, photographs and some other items.

The police also interrogated Maulana Murtaza who was present in the office but did not arrest him.

MIRPURKHAS: The Mirpurkhas police sealed the building of Al Rashid Trust, which also housed the offices of daily Islam and weekly Zarb-i-Momin, on the Railway Station Road.

Police also took away signboards and arrested Sagheer Ahmed, in-charge of the trust building. He was later released.

The police also sealed offices of Al Akhtar Trust in the Naokot town and removed its signboard.