Islamabad, Feb 14: Under pressure to act against banned groups, Pakistan has launched a crackdown on seminaries and health facilities run by Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, a media report said on Wednesday.
The action came after a high-level UN sanctions team visited last month to review progress against groups and individuals banned by the world body.
Following orders by the Punjab government, district administration of Rawalpindi took control of a seminary and four dispensaries run by Saeed-linked Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF).
The seminary has been handed over to the Auqaf department which controls the religious properties, 'Dawn' reported.
The paper reported that the provincial government last Friday directed the Auqaf department to take control of the seminaries.
"The provincial government handed over a list of four seminaries in Rawalpindi to the district administration. The district administration teams have visited the seminaries but JuD has denied any link with the madressahs," said a senior official of the district administration.
The official said that the government had directed the district administration to also check the details of students and teachers of the JuD-run seminaries as well as doctors and paramedical staff of the FIF dispensaries.
He said that the government had constituted a joint team with the district administration, police and the Auqaf department to check the details.
He said that a similar operation would also be launched in Attock, Chakwal and Jhelum districts.
Deputy Commissioner Talat Mehmood Gondal confirmed that the government had assumed control of one seminary and four dispensaries, run by JuD and the FIF, respectively.
However, observers believe that it would be a difficult task for the government to take over JuD offices scattered across the country.
Pakistan has recently taken several actions against the entities banned by the UN.
The recent actions have come ahead of the crucial Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting in Paris, scheduled to be held from February 18 to 23.
The US and India are spearheading an effort to get Pakistan included in the watchdog's international money-laundering and terror-financing 'grey list', reports said.
Pakistan was last placed on FATF's grey list in February 2012 and stayed on it for three year.
The federal cabinet yesterday approved new rules to block funding for banned groups.
Last week, Pakistan changed anti-terror laws through a presidential ordinance to include Hafiz Saeed-linked Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation and other militant outfits on the list of UN proscribed groups,
The government has also barred companies and individuals from giving donations to JuD, FIF and other organisations on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions list.
Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, heads the charity JuD, believed to be a front for Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror group.
Pakistan has come under intense pressue to rein in terror groups after US President accused the country of harbouring terrorists and suspended nearly $2 billion in security assistance to it.
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Pak cracks down on seminaries, health facilities run by Saeed
Agencies
February 14, 2018
DK in-charge minister presents CM’s MSP plea to Prime Minister in Mangaluru
News Network
November 28,2025
Mangaluru, Nov 28: Karnataka Health Minister and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday handed over Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the severe distress faced by farmers due to crashing crop prices.
PM Modi arrived at the Mangaluru International Airport en route to Udupi, where Gundu Rao welcomed him and submitted the letter. The chief minister’s message stressed that farmers are suffering heavy losses because maize and green gram are being bought far below the Minimum Support Price (MSP). The state urged the Centre to immediately begin procurement at MSP.
According to the letter, Karnataka has a bumper harvest this year—over 54.74 lakh metric tons of maize and 1.98 lakh metric tons of green gram—yet farmers are unable to secure fair prices. Against the MSP of ₹2,400/MT for maize and ₹8,768/MT for green gram, market rates have plunged to ₹1,600–₹1,800 and ₹5,400 respectively.
The chief minister has requested the Centre to:
• Direct NAFED, FCI and NCCF to start MSP procurement immediately.
• Ensure ethanol units purchase maize directly from farmers or FPOs.
• Increase Karnataka’s ethanol allocation, citing high production capacity.
• Stop maize imports, which have depressed domestic prices.
• Relax quality norms for green gram, allowing up to 10% discoloration due to rains.
The letter stresses that MSP is crucial for farmer dignity and income stability and calls for swift central intervention to prevent a deepening crisis.
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India’s Tougher Pilot Fatigue Rules: Why IndiGo’s Operations Crashed Into Turbulence
News Network
December 6,2025
New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced major operational turbulence this week after failing to prepare for new pilot-fatigue regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The stricter rules—designed to improve flight safety—took effect in phases through 2024, with the latest implementation on November 1. IndiGo has acknowledged that inadequate roster planning led to widespread cancellations and delays.
Below are the key DGCA rules that affected IndiGo’s operations:
1. Longer Mandatory Weekly Rest
Weekly rest for pilots has been increased from 36 hours to 48 hours.
The government says the extended break is essential to curb cumulative fatigue. This rule remains in force despite the current crisis.
2. Cap on Night Landings
Pilots can now perform only two night landings per week—a steep reduction from the earlier limit of six.
Night hours, defined as midnight to early morning, are considered the least alert period for pilots.
Given the disruptions, this rule has been temporarily relaxed for IndiGo until February 10.
3. Reduced Maximum Night Flight Duty
Flight duty that stretches into the night is now capped at 10 hours.
This measure has also been kept on hold for IndiGo until February 10 to stabilize operations.
4. Weekly Rest Cannot Be Replaced With Personal Leave
Airlines can no longer count a pilot’s personal leave as part of the mandatory 48-hour rest.
Pilots say this closes a loophole that previously reduced actual rest time.
Currently, all airlines are exempt from this rule to normalise travel.
5. Mandatory Fatigue Monitoring
Airlines must submit quarterly fatigue reports along with corrective actions to DGCA.
This system aims to create a transparent fatigue-tracking framework across the industry.
The DGCA has stressed that these rules were crafted to strengthen flight safety and align India with global fatigue-management standards. The temporary relaxations are expected to remain until February 2025, giving IndiGo time to stabilise its schedules and restore normal air travel.
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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians
News Network
November 30,2025
The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.
In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.
The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.
Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.
CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.
More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.
The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.
Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.
The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.
“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.
On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.
Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.
“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.
Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.
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