NEW DELHI, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- India says it has extended a ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India for two years for its links with terrorist groups.
"The ban, which was in force till Thursday, has been reimposed Friday for two years," a senior Interior Ministry official said.
The decision to extend the ban under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security.
The government banned nearly three dozen groups, including Hizb-ul-Mujaheddin, Jaish-e-Mohamed and Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami, for their links with terrorist outfits, most of them based in Pakistan. The decision to continue the ban on SIMI was taken because the group continued to indulge in unlawful activities, the official said.
The official said a tribunal consisting of a sitting judge of the high court would be constituted within a month, which then has to decide within six months whether the ban in justified. The ban on SIMI was first imposed in September 2001.
