Pakistan has frozen more than 5,000 bank accounts of terror suspects in the country under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). Reports state that the frozen accounts also include one of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, according to local media.
The accounts frozen by the Pakistani authorities contain a net amount of more than Pakistani Rs 40 crore.
The names of around 1,200 of these suspects, whose accounts were frozen by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), were listed in category 'A' of the ATA, a term used for terrorists who pose an "exceptional or high risk," an official said. "Masood Azhar's name was listed in category 'A'," the official was quoted as saying by the News.
According to reports, the Pakistan government had put the JeM chief under "protective custody" after the terrorist attack at the Pathankot airbase in India in January.
"Following the request of the ministry of interior, we have frozen accounts of all top suspected terrorists, including Masood Azhar, son of Allah Bux," the official said.
National coordinator of the National Counterterrorism Authority, Ihsan Ghani, confirmed that more than 5,000 accounts have been frozen by the government.
Pakistan on Monday suffered a heavy blow as militants barged into a Police academy in Quetta and opened fire at the cadets. At least 60 cadets were killed and more than 110 were wounded in the terrorist attack.
A military counter-operation to defeat the militants continued overnight and officials on Tuesday morning said that the operation was successful. Militants attacked the Balochistan Police College, located 20 km east of Quetta, at 11:00 pm on Monday. The compound had around 700 recruits at the time of the attack; however, hundreds of people were rescued in the operation, according to reports.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif postponed all engagements in Islamabad and arrived in Quetta on Tuesday morning. The PM is scheduled to chair a high-level meeting in the city to discuss the law and order situation. Sharif is also expected to visit the injured cadets in the hospital.
