AMMAN: Jordan announced on Wednesday it was banning the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist movement, accusing it of manufacturing and stockpiling weapons and planning to destabilise the kingdom.

The move comes after authorities said they arrested 16 people, including members of the Brotherhood, over an alleged sabotage plot. `It has been decided to ban all activities of the so-called Muslim Brotherhood and to consider any activity (carried out by it) a violation of the provisions of the law, Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told reporters.

`It has also been decided to close any offices or headquarters used by the group, even if it is in partner-ship with any other parties,` he added.

The Muslim Brotherhood has continued to operate in Jordan despite the country`s top court in 2020 ruling to dissolve it, with authorities turning a blind eye to its activities.

The Brotherhood`s political wing, the Islamic Action Front, is Jordan`s main opposition party and the largest in parliament, having won 31 out of 138 seats in September elections.

Faraya said Jordan would also be `confiscating the group`s assets in accordance with relevant judicial rulings, prohibit the promotion of the group`s ideas under penalty of legal accountability, and consider membership in it a prohibited act`. The capital Amman is home to several Muslim Brotherhood offices.-AFP