Taliban bank accounts frozen

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 7. As the U.S. gets ready to launch an offensive against the Taliban for its refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden, the Musharraf Government appears to be gearing up for a crackdown against the pro-Taliban elements in the country and ordered the freezing of the financial assets of the Taliban functionaries.

Amid reports of the ``house arrest'' of one of the faction leaders of the Jamait-i-Ulema-Islam (JUI), Pakistan has ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of 146 leading Taliban Ministers, Governors, judges, diplomats and military officials along with three Afghan entities. The decision is in compliance with the United Nations resolutions of January this year that imposed fresh sanctions against the militia.

It is believed that the Government has registered criminal cases against the leaders of the JUI faction, led by Maulana Fazalur Rehman, on charges of inciting people against the Government and violating the ban on recruitment of people for ``jehad'' (holy war).

Maulana Fazalur Rehman is one of the leading religious personalities in Pakistan, who has been spearheading an agitation against the U.S. for levelling charges against Osama for his alleged involvement in the September 11 attacks in the U.S. He was in Rawalpindi on Saturday in connection with a rally organised by his party.

It is not clear if the decision to put the Maulana under house arrest and register cases against him and his supporters was meant to send a message that the Government would not allow the hard-liners to take to the streets.

A clear picture on the thinking of the Musharraf government towards those opposed to the Government policy of co- operation with the U.S. in its fight against Osama and the Taliban could be expected tomorrow. The Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, is scheduled to address the international press tomorrow morning.

In fact, it would be his first encounter with the press after July 20 when he held fort on his performance at the Agra summit. The situation arising out of the September 11 incidents and the policy of his government is bound to dominate the proceedings of the press meet.

Pakistani media has reported that in line with the U.N. resolutions, Pakistan has frozen bank accounts and assets of the top Taliban leaders being maintained in Pakistan banks.

The U.N. resolutions passed in 1999 and 2000 called for freezing of bank accounts and assets of 146 Taliban officials, 10 Arabs, including Osama, and three Afghan entities.

The news reports said the State Bank of Pakistan had issued two circulars in January and in August this year to freeze and then provide details of accounts and assets of the people named by the U.N.

``The bank accounts of Taliban and Arabs - wanted by the U.S. under the charges of terrorism - have been frozen,'' the Pakistani media said quoting bankers based in Peshawar. The media also published the list of Taliban officials whose bank accounts were frozen.

The list published today by Dawn, virtually contained the names of all the top brass of the Taliban administration. It included the names of 87 Ministers and Governors. The Ministers included the Taliban Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Wakil Mutwakil, two of his deputies, the Defence Minister, Mr. Ubaidullah Akund.

Other top officials included Mr. Noor Mohammad Saqib, Chief Justice of Taliban's Supreme Court, Mr. Abdul Saleem Zaeef, Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan, his fellow diplomats in Islamabad, Karachi, Quetta, Abu Dabhi and the U.N., Faqzal.M. Mazloom, Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Mr. Hamidullah, head of the Afghanistan's Ariana Airlines, Mr. Mushatasaed, head of the Taliban Academy of Sciences.

The three business entities whose accounts were frozen included Ariana Afghan Airlines, Da Afghanistan Bank, Da Afghanistan Momtaz Bank.

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Section  : International
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