ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has removed the leader of one of the country’s largest extremist groups from its terrorist watchlist while the Election Commission considers whether his group can field candidates in a general election next month, an official said on Thursday.
Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi is head of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), a radical group that has incited violence against Pakistan’s minority section.
ASWJ shares roots with the more violent Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant group based in central Punjab province, which had strong ties to Al Qaeda and has waged a deadly campaign against the minority sect for more than two decades.
Who authorised the removal of Ludhianvi from the terrorist list is unclear, as a caretaker government is running Pakistan during the two months of campaigning ahead of the July 25 general election.
The ASWJ has registered dozens of candidates to stand in poll, using another name for their party, but their candidacy has been challenged because of the group’s inclusion on the terrorist watchlist.
An order from the National Counter Terrorism Authority dated June 14 that was obtained by Reuters specifies that Ludhianvi be taken off the “schedule four” list of people with links to terrorism and his bank accounts unfrozen.
However, a senior official with NACTA said the body was acting on recommendations from the Punjab government.
“We got a recommendation from Punjab government that Ludhianvi was no more on fourth schedule and wasn’t required on watchlist, and we just removed him,” a NACTA official said .
But, Hasan Askari Rizvi, the caretaker chief minister of Punjab province, indicated that the decision came from the federal government.
ABBASI DISQUALIFIED
An election tribunal disqualified outgoing Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday from running in his home constituency, dealing the latest blow to the party of ousted leader Nawaz Sharif.
The surprise barring of Abbasi applies only to the constituency of Murree, and not the separate Islamabad seat in which he is also standing in the July 25 election. However, with four weeks until the vote he could still face new challenges. — Reuters
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