Interior Ministry proscribes Lashkar-e-Jhangvi AlAlami and Jammat-ul Ahrar

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior proscribed two more extremist organisations operating in the country involved in claiming several deadly attacks across Pakistan. These outfits include Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Almi (LeJA) and Jamat-ul-Ahrar (JuA). Both organisations were declared outlawed on November 11 this year. The decision was announced by National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA).

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Almi was formed in early 2000 and it is claimed it is currently headed by Syed Safdar Shah alias Yousaf Mansoor Khurasani. There are reports that Safdar belongs to Karachi and hails from Gulbahar area of District Central. He was arrested in 2009 and was released in 2014. Its spokesman is known with the name Ali Bin Safyan.

After the differences with the leadership of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Omar Khaild Khurasani, the commander of Mohmand Agency of FATA formed his own faction in July 2014 which is now known as Jamat-ul-Ahrar. Ahsanullah Ahsan is the spokesman of the deadly outfit. This year on August 3, the United States Department of State designated Jamaat-ul-Ahrar as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.

However, there are 63 groups that are declared proscribed by Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior during different tenures and the trend started in the regime of General retired Pervaiz Musharraf.

According to the list of NACTA, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan (SMP) were the organisations that were first declared defunct on August 14, 2001. There are two trust enlisted under UNSCR 1267 including Al Akhtar Trust and Al Rashid Trust and both were incorporated in the said list on Dec 1, 2005.

There are three more organisations under observation i.e. Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Ghulam-e-Sahaba (GS) and Maynard Trust. The JuD is under surveillance since January 17, 2007. On June 30 this year, GS was placed in the list for the period of six months. Couple of months back the Maymar Trust came under surveillance on August 31, 2016.