ASWJ chief’s assets unfrozen, travel ban lifted

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has ordered the unfreezing of the assets of Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi, head of the group Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), and the lifting of a ban on his movement, a National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) official said.
NACTA issued a notification in this regard on Wednesday, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Ludhianvi’s name had been on a government watch list, and his Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) had been blocked to bar his movement.
“Ludhianvi was on the watch list for more than three years, and after a thorough review of his activities, Punjab’s provincial government recommended to remove his name from the list and unfreeze his assets,” the NACTA official told Arab News.
A high-level review committee of the Punjab Home Department occasionally revisits names on the list, and removes people who have shown satisfactory conduct, said the official.
Ludhianvi’s CNIC has also been unblocked after the NACTA notification, allowing him to travel freely, acquire arms with a valid license, and own movable and immovable property.
After the government decision to lift the ban, the ASWJ chief can also operate his bank accounts, which had been frozen.
Ludhianvi became head of the ASWJ — formerly known as Sipah-e-Sahaba, a defunct sectarian extremist group — after former chief Ali Sher Haidri was killed in an ambush in 2009.
Ludhianvi is also joint secretary of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), a coalition of more than 40 political and religious parties.