Hafiz Saeed's seminaries, dispensaries taken over in Punjab

Islamabad, Feb 14 Pakistan's Punjab government has launched a crackdown on seminaries and health facilities run by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Rawalpindi.

Following orders by the Pakistan government, the Rawalpindi administration took control of a seminary and four dispensaries run by JuD and its charity wing Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), the Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The seminary was handed over to the Auqaf Department, which controls the religious properties, while the dispensaries were given to the Health Department.

The action came after a high-level UN sanctions team visited Rawalpindi in January to review progress against groups and individuals banned by the UN.

The UNSC sanctions list includes the names of Al Qaeda, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, JuD, FIF and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan issued a notification to all companies, prohibiting them from donating money to the entities and individuals listed under the UN sanctions committee's consolidated list.

"The district administration teams have visited the seminaries but JuD has denied any link with the madrassas," a senior district official told Dawn.

He said the government had taken control of madrassa Hudabia -- which comprised a college, a school and a seminary -- and started conducting an audit of its finances to check details of the funding and expenditures.

The official said the government had directed the district administration to also check the details of students and teachers of the JuD-run seminaries as well as doctors and paramedical staff of the FIF dispensaries.

He said a similar operation would also be launched in Attock, Chakwal and Jhelum districts.

Pakistan has come under intense pressure to act against terror groups after US President Donald Trump, in his first tweet of 2018, announced cutting all further aid to Islamabad on charges of "harbouring terrorists".