Centre bans PFI after week-long crackdown across the country
PFI’s associate organisations, including Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization have also been banned
The Centre has declared the Popular Front of India (PFI) an “unlawful association” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for five years after a week-long crackdown on its top leaders and office bearers across the country, the Union home ministry said in a notification late on Tuesday.
PFI’s associate organisations, including 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 and Rehab Foundation, Kerala, have also been banned.
The ministry said PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been involved in the violent terrorist activities with an intent to create a reign of terror in the country, thereby endangering the security and public order of the state.
It cited anti-national activities of PFI, disrespect, and disregard for the constitutional authority and sovereignty of the state and said immediate and prompt action was required.
“The Central government is of the opinion that if there is no immediate curb or control of unlawful activities of the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts, the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts, will use this opportunity to continue its subversive activities, thereby disturbing public order and undermining the constitutional set up of the country; encourage and enforce terror based regressive regime; continue propagating anti-national sentiments and radicalize a particular section of society with the intention to create disaffection against the country; aggravate activities which are detrimental to the integrity, security and sovereignty of the country,” the notification said.
“PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been indulging in unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty, and security of the country and have the potential of disturbing public peace and communal harmony of the country and supporting militancy in the country.”
The government said the PFI is involved in several criminal and terror cases and “shows sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority of the country and with funds and ideological support from outside it has become a major threat to the internal security of the country.”
“Investigations in various cases have revealed that the PFI and its cadres have been repeatedly engaging in violent and subversive acts. Criminal violent acts carried out by PFI include chopping off [a] limb of a college professor, cold blooded killings of persons associated with organisations espousing other faiths, obtaining explosives to target prominent people and places, and destruction of public property.”
The ministry said the radical Islamist organisation and its associates “operate openly as socio-economic, educational and political organization but, they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalize a particular section of the society working towards undermining the concept of democracy and show sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set up of the country.”
It cited investigations by various agencies and said PFI has international linkages with Global Terrorist Groups and some of its activists have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and participated in terror activities in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
“Some of these PFI cadres linked to ISIS have been killed in these conflict theaters and some have been arrested by state police and central agencies and also the PFI has linkages with Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a proscribed terrorist organization,” the notification said.
It added the PFI has created these affiliates or fronts “with [an] objective of enhancing its reach among different sections of the society such as youth, students, women, Imams, lawyers or weaker sections of the society with the sole objective of expanding its membership, influence and fund-raising capacity.”
“These associates or affiliates or fronts have a ‘Hub and Spoke’ relationship with the PFI acting as the Hub and utilizing the mass outreach and fund-raising capacity of its associates or affiliates or fronts for strengthening its capability for unlawful activities and these associates or affiliates or fronts function as ‘roots and capillaries’ through which the PFI is fed and strengthened,” the notification said.
It said some of the PFI’s founding members were the leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and PFI has linkages with JMB, both banned organisations.
“The office bearers and cadres of the PFI along with others are conspiring and raising funds from within India and abroad through the banking channels, and the hawala, donations, etc as part of a well-crafted criminal conspiracy, and then transferring, layering, and integrating these funds through multiple accounts to project them as legitimate and eventually using these funds to carry out various criminal, unlawful and terrorist activities in India.”
“The sources of deposits on behalf of PFI to its several bank accounts were not supported by the financial profiles of the account holders and the activities of PFI were not being carried out as per their declared objectives and therefore, the Income Tax Department cancelled the registration granted to PFI...”
It added the department also cancelled the registration granted to Rehab India Foundation.
State governments including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat recommended banning the PFI.