Multiple bank accounts with more than Rs.400 million of over 5,100 terror suspects have been frozen by the authorities in Pakistan. The frozen bank accounts also include the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar who is under “protective custody” after the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase.

A senior official of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), said that, “Following a request of the Ministry of Interior, we have frozen accounts of all top suspected terrorists, including Masood Azhar.” He is part of a team monitoring the progress pertaining to this matter.

According to the local Media, the interior ministry sent three different lists of thousands of suspects, including kingpins of some proscribed organizations. About 1,200 suspects whose accounts were frozen by SBP were listed in category 'A' of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, a term used for terrorists put on exceptional risk or high risk.

The officials said that, "Azhar's name was listed in category 'A' of the 4th Schedule." "It happened since the government put the JeM chief under 'protective custody' of security agencies after terrorists attacked the Pathankot Airbase."

National Coordinator Nacta Ihsan Ghani, who confirmed that over 5,000 accounts of suspects have been frozen by the SBP, said that, "These accounts hold net amount worth Rs. 400 million."

"More than 3,078 accounts of suspects whose accounts were frozen belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata, 1,443 from Punjab, 226 from Sindh, 193 from Balochistan, 106 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 27 from the Islamabad Capital Territory," the paper said.

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Nandini