Viewpoint: PFI Ban
By Dr Adish C Aggarwala*
The Prime Minister and Home Minister have done yet another surgical strike to ensure national unity and integration by banning the Popular Front of India (PFI).
The PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been found to be involved in serious offences, including terrorism and its financing, targeted gruesome killings, disregarding the constitutional set-up of the country, disturbing public order which are prejudicial to the integrity, security and sovereignty of the country. Therefore, the Ministry of Home Affairs found it necessary to curb the nefarious activities of the organization and has hence declared the Popular Front of India (PFI) along with its associates or affiliates or fronts including 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, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as an “unlawful association” under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
The All India Bar Association (AIBA) welcomes the move and now requests both to continue to be the sentinel of national security and integrity, to remain vigilant and ensure that PFI does not sprout under different names and banners to continue its terrorist and disruptive activities.
The Government should totally disband the PFI network and nix its attempts to be reborn under a different banner. We also want the filing of charge sheets against the arrested leaders and cadres of PFI expeditiously and the formation of a special court to try the cases so that a speedy trial and verdict could be ensured.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah shall now take the PFI issue to its logical conclusion and teach a fitting lesson to forces that are inimical to the economic, political and industrial development of India.
AIBA takes this opportunity to recall the valuable contributions of Islam to India’s history and growth, and point out that Muslims and many Muslim leaders continue to be great patriots. The Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister should communicate to the Muslim brethren this message so that they understand how misguided elements among them bring disrepute to the whole community, though the bad elements are minuscule.
The Proscription of PFI is nothing but the reincarnation of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), which too was banned in 2001 and 2008.
On September 23, 2022, the AIBA called upon the Union Home Minister to ban PFI because our inquiries revealed that it had formed a nationwide network of secessionist, divisive and terrorist links. This is the right time to nip the organisation in the bud and we thank the Prime Minister and Home Minister for having acceded to the request dated September 23, 2022, to ban the dangerous PFI in India.
*Senior Advocate, Vice President of Supreme Court Bar Association, and Chairman of All India Bar Association (AIBA). The views expressed are of AIBA.
