Pakistan freezes funds of two Islamic charity groups
Afp, Karachi
Pakistan yesterday froze the bank accounts of two Islamic charities and shut down their offices as part of a crackdown on militants after several recent suicide bombings in the country, officials said. "Offices of Al-Akhtar Trust and Al-Rashid Trust have been sealed and their bank accounts have been frozen," senior government official Ghulam Mohammad Mohtaram told AFP. "They will not be allowed to give ads in local newspapers for donations." He said the move followed reports that the two organisations were "providing funds to other organisations involved in illegal activities." The government also banned any publications by the two organisations, he said. However, there will be no restriction on their welfare activity, he added. The Interior Ministry in Islamabad said action was being taken against the two charities as well as some militant organisations. "We have banned these organisations and are taking action to seal their offices, close their websites and publications and freeze their bank accounts," the chief of the ministry's Nation Crisis Management Cell, Javed Iqbal Cheema, told AFP.
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