New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday decided to declare Islamic Research Foundation floated by preacher Zakir Naik an outlawed organisation under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and banned it for five years for alleged terror activities. The decision has been taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Cabinet approved a proposal to declare Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) as an ‘unlawful association’ under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for five years, a Home Ministry official said.
A formal notification will be issued by the Home Ministry soon. The move comes after investigation by the Home Ministry found the NGO was allegedly having dubious links with Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, accused of propagating terrorism, the official said.
Earlier this month, Naik’s NGO was put under prior permission category, thus preventing it from receiving foreign funds without getting nod from the central government. In a gazette notification, the Home Ministry had said that on the basis of records available and reports received from intelligence agencies, it found that the IRF Education Trust has violated various provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act (FCRA) 2010.
“Now, therefore, the central government in exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 11 of the FCRA 2010, hereby specifies that the IRF Education Trust shall obtain prior permission of the central government on each occasion before accepting any foreign contribution in accordance with the provisions of section 12 of the Act and rules made thereunder,” the notification had said.