Hafiz Saeed’s charities in firing line

Pakistan has banned two charities linked to Hafiz Saeed, with authorities seizing control of offices and financial as- sets of the charities, an official said on Wednesday. The action comes days before a meeting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering watchdog, which will consider a US-sponsored motion to place Pakistan on a list of countries failing to prevent terrorism financing. The operations in Pakistan of Hafiz Saeed’s extensive network – which includes 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance services – has been a particular concern of the United States. Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah said the Ministry of Interior had issued a notification against the two charities, the Jamaatud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), this week. “We have received the interior ministry directions, and according to that, Hafiz Saeed and his charities, like JuD and FIF, have been banned to operate in Pakistan,” Sanaullah said. In the city of Rawalpindi, district officers had begun taking over the charities’ offices, a city official said.