Pakistan bans charities linked to Islamist leader designated as terrorist by UN

Pakistan has banned two charities linked to Islamist leader Hafiz Saeed in a move against the UN-designated “terrorist,” who the US says was behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, Reuters reported. The move comes days before a key meeting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering watchdog. It will consider a US-sponsored motion to place Pakistan on a list of countries failing to prevent terrorism financing. Punjab Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the Interior Ministry issued a notification against Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) this week. “Saeed and his charities, like JuD and FIF, have been banned from operating in Pakistan,” Sanaullah said. “We have already started taking over all the facilities, offices, schools, dispensaries and seminaries which belong to the JuD and FIF.”