The federal government had to face severe backlash after Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was released by the Lahore High Court (LHC) after an extended house arrest. The responsibility lay squarely on the government shoulders because they had failed to pursue any cases against him investigating his involvement in terrorist activities. However, with time the international pressure was mounting and the government could not carry on allowing him and his organisation to exercise their rights as free citizens - especially when the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) has declared JuD a terrorist organisation. At the same time, they have also branched out and it is no secret that Milli Muslim League (MML) is a party functioning under the leadership of JuD chief.
It was about time that the Pakistani government declared him a terrorist and started investigating his activities. This includes banning all organisations and charities affiliated with his name. In order to stop the functions of any organisation, it is important to first stop its funding. It is commendable that the government, by far, has banned charities and funding of all terrorist organisations named by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) along with JuD.
However a major concern in this situation is whether or not the government would be able to sustain this move. We have seen before as well that the house arrest of Hafiz Saeed was merely due to international pressure, with the government having no intention to interrogate the activities. If this is more of the same, then it is just a move to appease the international players and will have no affect on the internal order of Pakistan and we will continue to move away from the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). It goes without saying that the NAP is the necessity of the time and must not be ignored.