In a major move to clamp down on ‘terrorism financing’, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has directed all banks in the country to freeze bank accounts worth millions of rupees linked to 2,021 individuals listed in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997. Section 11-O of the ATA provides for freezing and seizing of money or other property owned directly or indirectly by a proscribed person. A list of 2,021 individuals, mostly leaders and office-bearers of sectarian groups, has been sent to banks along with the directive. The list includes some of the prominent and controversial names including Maulana Abdul Aziz (Lal Masjid), Mohsin Najfi (Shia leader), Maulvi Ahmed Ludhianvi (ASWJ), and Allama Maqsood Domki (MWM) among others.
Interestingly, more than half of the listed persons are from Punjab, followed by Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad and Azad Kashmir. No one from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been included in the list. Moreover, the list sent to the banks does not include the names of all ‘fourth schedulers’. Senior counterterrorism officials said the complete list might have between 6,500 and 8,000 names. Despite being a public document, the fourth schedule in its entirety has never been published by the government.
