LAHORE: The much-trumpeted crackdown by the Pakistan government on the Jamaatul Daawa and its leadership is nothing more than an eye-wash keeping in view the friendly treatment being meted out to Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, his family members as well as his JuD associates who have been placed under house arrest.
Despite tall claims being made by Pakistani authorities to have moved against the JuD leadership and its infrastructure across Pakistan with full might, it appears that half hearted attempts are being made by the decision makers in Islamabad to address the apprehension of India and the US. Practically speaking, no action has so far been taken to seal the sprawling Murdike headquarters of the Jamaatul Daawa — Markaz-e-Toiba, spanning over 200 acres. The Markaz is still being guarded by dozens of gun totting activists of the JuD who are not letting anyone to enter its premises. Therefore, activities at the Markaz are going on as usual without any interruption. Same is the case with Hafiz Saeed who had been placed under house arrest at his Johar Town residence in Lahore for a period of one month only.
The fact, however remains that on Friday, the banned JuD ameer was allowed to leave his Johar town home and travel to a nearby mosque to offer the Friday prayers. Besides a small contingent of the Punjab police, his residence is being guarded by over a dozen armed activists of the JuD. Saeed and his 11 close associates who too have been restricted to their homes by the home department after the UNSC decision are still using their mobile phones and meeting with their relatives. Therefore, despite a government ban on the statements and the activities of the JuD leaders, many of them are still using the print and electronic media to spit venom against the United States and New Delhi by declaring them enemies of Islam and Pakista.
The friendly treatment being meted out to Mohammad Saeed’s family members by the Pakistani authorities can be gauged from the fact that his elder son Talha Saeed was allowed to lead the Friday prayers the other day at Jamia Qadsia in the Chauburji area of Lahore where he severely criticized the United States and New Delhi for persuading the United Nations to proceed against the JuD and Hafiz Saeed. He said that the UNSC action was illegal and his father would soon challenge it in the International Court of Justice.
Similarly, the Pakistani authorities have not yet taken any step to confiscate the weapons being possessed by the JuD activists and office bearers despite the fact that it was required to seize all their licensed as well as unlicensed arms in line with the UNSC resolution No. 1267 under which the JuD has been banned as a terrorist organisation. As a matter of fact, it has become mandatory on the part of the Pakistan government to apprise the world body on regular basis of its follow up actions to be taken in compliance with the UNSC resolution.
In a related move, while rejecting the United Nations Security Council decision to ban the JuD as a terrorist organization, its ameer Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has written a letter to the United Nations Secretary General, demanding the world body to make public the evidence on the basis of which it has proscribed the JD. The letter written by Saeed states: “The United Nations has acted in haste to ban Jamaatul Daawa, without even furnishing any evidence of its involvement in the Mumbai attacks. The United Nations Security Council did not even bother to investigate the kind of activities the JuD actually carried out. The JuD is a welfare organisation which is engaged in relief and social welfare activities. It is not involved in any terrorist activities, nor is it related to any terrorist organisation. The JuD is not a secret organisation either and is open to everyone”, he states.
Hafiz Mjohammad Saeed further adds that the Indian attempt to associate the JuD with terrorism is a crude attempt on the part of New Delhi to malign the JuD. “As far as I know, what has been presented as proof against JD is based on what has been reported by the Western media. Do media reports in various Western media constitute evidence? Especially, when such reports are biased and full of hatred against Muslims and Islam? Has any independent commission or organisation ever bothered to investigate the kind of activities which Jamaatul Daawa really carries out?”, he added. The JuD chief then asks the United Nations Secretary General to either reverse the UNSC decision of banning his group or make public the evidence on the basis of which the JuD has been proscribed as a terrorist outfit.
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