Aastha Thakur
Published on: 28th September, 2022 at 22:33 IST
The Popular Front of India and its affiliates have been outlawed for a term of five years by the central government. The Popular Front of India (PFI) and any affiliates or fronts thereof were proclaimed “unlawful organisations” with immediate effect by the Central Government in accordance with the authority granted to it by Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
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 (NWF), Junior Front (JF), Empower India Foundation (EIF), and Rehab Foundation (Kerala) are all PFI affiliates that have also been deemed to be “unlawful associations.”
The notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs released on Wednesday (September 28) will be in force for a period of 5 years. As per the notification released states that –
“The 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, and the anti-national activities of PFI disrespect and disregard the constitutional authority and sovereignty of the state and hence an immediate and prompt action is required against the organisation”
The notification also said that the Central Government believes that if the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts are not immediately restrained or controlled from engaging in illicit actions, they would take advantage of the situation to –
(i) continue its subversive activities, thereby disturbing public order and undermining the constitutional set up of the country;
(ii) encourage and enforce terror based regressive regime;
(iii) continue propagating anti-national sentiments and radicalize a particular section of society with the intention to create disaffection against the country;
(iv) aggravate activities which are detrimental to the integrity, security and sovereignty of the country;
On September 22, the NIA has nabbed several top leaders of PFI in a coordinated pre-planned operation held in Kerala, Karnataka, UP, Delhi etc.
Its Involvement in Violent Terror Activities
The MHA said that the PFI is involved in several criminal and terrorism cases, exhibits blatant disregard for national constitutional authority, and has significantly harmed the nation’s internal security as a result of financial and intellectual backing from abroad.
According to the notification, PFI has committed violent crimes such as the amputation of a college professor’s limb in Kerala, the cold-blooded murder of people affiliated with organisations that support different religions, the acquisition of explosives to target well-known individuals and locations, and the destruction of public property.
Additionally, it was noted that PFI has a history of cooperating with foreign terrorist organisations, and some of its members had joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and taken part in terrorist acts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Some of these PFI members who were affiliated with ISIS were murdered in these battle zones, while others were detained by state police and central agencies. The PFI also has connections to Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a banned terrorist group.
