The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has directed all banks to freeze 2,021 accounts linked to individuals listed on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997, in a major move to clamp down on terrorism financing.
According to SBP sources, a list of 2,021 individuals of sectarian groups has been sent to banks along with directive.
The list include Maulvi Abdul Aziz (Lal Masjid), Mohsin Najfi (Shia leader), Maulvi Ahmed Ludhianvi (Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat), Aurangzeb Farooqi (ASWJ), Allama Maqsood Domki (Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen), Shahid Bikik (Lyari Amn Committee) and others.
More than half of the listed persons (1,443) are from Punjab, followed by Sindh (226), Balochistan (193), Gilgit-Baltistan (106), Islamabad (27) and Azad Kashmir (26).