Accounts of over 8,400 terror financing suspects being frozen

ISLAMABAD: The government has initiated a widespread monetory crackdown against over 8,400 individuals allegedly involved in terror financing in a first apparent sign of state acting decisively to track and block the money supply to extremists.

From the controversial cleric at Islamabad’s Lal Musjid to the mover and shaker of Lyari Aman Committee are among the top suspects whose bank accounts have been frozen under the the National Action Plan (NAP).

“Over 8,400 terror suspects are on financial monitoring unit’s radar. We’ve frozen estimated Rs1.2 billion in suspicious funds so far,” revealed a senior official of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) on Sunday.

“Over three dozen banks on our request have also choked around Rs101 million in suspicious funds owned by 177 madaris,” revealed the official, who is associated with the proposed national terrorists financing investigation cell of Nacta to curb terror funding in the country.

“All bank accounts of Lal Mosque’s top cleric Maulana Aziz and gangster Shahid Bikiki of Lyari Aman Committee have been frozen. Their travel documents have also been cancelled,” a senior official of the Ministry of Interior, who is involved in the whole process, told The News.

Authorities at the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) and Directorate of Passport and Immigration office have blocked travel documents of over 3,111 terror suspects whose names were listed in  Schedule IV recently, he further said.

The government is in the process freezing bank accounts and blocking travel documents of over 8,400 terror suspects whose names have been included to 4th Schedule under the Anti Terrorism Act 1997, interior ministry officials said. Around 2,021 accounts of prominent individuals have been blocked by various banks on the order of the State Bank of Pakistan, revealed the officials. These prominent individuals were listed in category ‘A*’, a term used for terrorists put on exceptional risk or high risk.

Among top prominent terrorists whose accounts have been frozen are: Mati-ur-Rehman of al-Qaeda Pakistan, Mansoor alias Ibrahim alias Chotta of Tehreek-e-Taliban and Qari Ehsan alias Ustad Huzaifa of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). Government has already announced Rs20 million bounty on their heads.

Accounts of Umar Chohas of Tehrik-i-Taliban al-Qaeda group, Bilal Ahmed of TTP al-Qaeda Pakistan, Ramzan Mengal of LeJ, Sher Abbas of Jamaatul Furqan, Maulvi Ahmed Ludhianvi of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, Maqsood Domki of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen, Pariyal Shah, Sarfraz Pappu, Imaad Ali, Baqir Moosvi, Hafiz Aurangzaib and Kabir Raza of ASWJ, Sibtain Shirazi of defunct Tehreek-i- Jafaria Pakistan and Mirza Ali of defunct TJP have also been frozen.

Banking circles told this correspondent that they have started receiving letters from these individuals who rejected the charges of terror financing and termed unjustified the act of freezing their accounts. These individuals have also requested for opening their accounts as no charge against them was proved in any court. They said this measure has unnecessarily defamed them.

The Nacta is also in regular contact with the counter-terrorism forces in Sindh and Balochistan where almost 75 percent militants on terror watch list are untraceable.

The top body coordinating with provinces to clamp down on terrorists wants to get their accounts frozen as soon as possible.

Six most wanted militants belonging to proscribed organizations have shifted to Holland, Bangladesh, Dubai, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan, revealed official documents.

Officials claimed that they would successfully trace accounts of around 38 militants put on watch list and also listed to Schedule IV and now are in various jails of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab. Among them two militants are from Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, 3 belong to Jaish-e-Muhammad, two had affiliation with each Hizb-ul-Mujahiddin and Jundallah, seven each from Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and TTP and eight militants belong to LeJ. Their accounts and travel documents will be blocked this week, added the officials.

Security experts, however, said that the government’s late directions to freeze accounts of suspected terrorists might not be helpful to stop terror financing. “It should have been done earlier. It was a key point of NAP. Why did it happen too late,” opined an Islamabad based security expert Imtiaz Gul. Terrorists never transfer money through banks—so government would come hard on militants by blocking their finances which they receive through “hawala and hundi,” Gul told The News.

Sindh police is also try to trace accounts of 27 militants of LeJ, 56 of SSP, 22 of SMP, two of Muhajir Qaumi Movement, six of PST, one each belong to Khudamul Islam (KuI), Lyari Gang war and MWM, eight of HuM, 15 of JeM, three of Jundallah, two of Jamaat-ud-Dawa and 19 terrorists of to TTP, CTD Sindh officials said. Their names were put on 4th Schedule recently, they added. CTD Balochistan sources revealed that banks on directions of SBP have frozen accounts of 28 most wanted militants where the government announced Rs59 million as head-money to kill or capture them in the province.