Security personnel guarding Ajmer Dargah. (Deepak Sharma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)The spiritual head of Ajmer Dargah Zainul Abedin Ali Khan on Wednesday welcomed the Central government's decision to ban the Popular Front of India (PFI).
The Deewan of the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti said the action was taken in compliance with the law and to prevent terrorism. It should be welcomed by all, he said.
'If the country is safe then we are safe, the country is bigger than any institution or idea and if someone talks about breaking this country, breaking the unity and sovereignty here, talks about spoiling the peace of the country, then he has no right to live here,' Khan told PTI.
He said there have been reports of 'anti-national activities by PFI' and the ban imposed on it is in the interest of the country.
'Two years ago, I had first demanded that the government ban PFI,' the Ajmer Dargah deewan said.
Chairman of All India Sajjadanashin Council Nasiruddin Khan also welcomed the step taken by the government. 'No institution is bigger than the country,' he said.
The Centre has imposed a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and several of its associates for their alleged terror activities.
The organisations which were also declared banned under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA include Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CF), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women's Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala.
The action of the Central government came days after a countrywide crackdown on the 16-year-old PFI, arrest of over a hundred of its activists and seizure of several dozen properties.
In a late Tuesday night notification, the Union Home Ministry said some of the PFI's founding members are the leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and the PFI has linkages with Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Both JMB and SIMI are proscribed organisations.
It said there had been many instances of international linkages of PFI with global terrorist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
An Appeal...
Dear Reader,
As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.
Our business model is you and your subscription. And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.
We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.
Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.