The brother-in-law of Mumbai terror attack mastermind and proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has been arrested for hate speech and criticizing the Pakistan government, the police said on Wednesday.

Makki is accused of delivering a hate speech in Gujranwala against the crackdown and criticizing the steps taken by the Pakistan government under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body which combats money laundering and terror financing.

Makki was arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order Act and shifted to a jail in Lahore, the report said. He was designated by the US in 2010 and consequently targeted by the US Treasury Department.

The crackdown on the outlawed groups was initiated by the Pakistan government earlier this year under the National Action Plan.

In March, Islamabad announced the freezing of accounts and seizure of assets linked to organisations banned by the UN Security Council. Within weeks, the government said it had taken control of 182 seminaries and detained over 100 people as part of its push against proscribed groups.

On May 11, the Interior Ministry banned 11 organisations under the Anti-Terrorism Act for their alleged affiliation with proscribed outfits JuD, FiF and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

JeM chief Masood Azhar was declared a global terrorist by the UN Security Council earlier this month.

The US has been asking Pakistan to take sustained and irreversible action against terrorist groups that are operating from its soil, deny them safe haven and block their access to funds.

--IANS

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