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 now banned outfit has been accused of raising funds, from both India and abroad, through hawala and donations as part of a “well-crafted criminal conspiracy”. “With funds and ideological support from outside, it has become a major threat to the internal security of the country,” said a Home Ministry order.
The ministry said the PFI has been involved in violent acts like, “chopping off the hand of a college professor in Kerala and cold-blooded killings of people associated with organisations espousing other faiths.”
“Several criminal activities and brutal murders have been committed by PFI members over the past to create reign of terror in public mind,” it said.
The Home Ministry said PFI and its affiliates have been indulging in unlawful activities “prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country”, and that they have the potential to disturb public peace and communal harmony.