The PFI and its affiliate organisations have been declared an “unlawful association” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the government said, citing the outfit’s links with the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Islamic State or ISIS, and said the PFI is involved in several criminal and terror cases.
The MHA banned the PFI and its associates and issued the gazette notification a day after the second nationwide crackdown on the radical outfit in five days with police teams across seven states conducting raids Tuesday and detaining or arresting more than 270 people with alleged links to the radical outfit.
The ministry in its notification said the PFI and its associates, affiliates, and fronts have been indulging in unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to India’s integrity, sovereignty, and security, have the potential of disturbing public peace and communal harmony, and supporting militancy in the country.
The notification also talked about the many associates or affiliates or fronts, including the Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation (EIF), and Rehab Foundation, Kerala.
FUND RAISING
The PFI was involved in raising funds from within India and abroad through banking channels, hawala, and donations. The radical outfit used these funds to carry out various criminal, unlawful, and terrorist activities in India, MHA said.
