Charity Chief’s Arrest Unrelated to UK Aircraft Bombing Plot – Pakistan
Charity News Online
The decision to put the chief of an Islamic charity, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, under house arrest last week had nothing to do with an investigation into a conspiracy to blow up transatlantic airliners in mid-air, Pakistan said Tuesday. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, was placed under house arrest at his home in the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday night, Reuters reports.
Just hours later news broke that British police had arrested 24 British Muslims involved in the conspiracy to blow up planes over U.S. cities, and Pakistan had arrested at least seven suspected conspirators. "Hafiz Saeed's arrest has absolutely nothing to do with this case," Tasnim Aslam, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told a regular weekly news conference.
Saeed, the founder and former head of Lashkar-e-Taiba, one of the most-feared jihadi groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, has been placed under house arrest for just a month, according to an aide in Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United States put Jamaat-ud-Dawa on its list of terrorist organizations earlier this year. Security analysts say it is little more than a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba. Though it banned Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2002, Pakistan has taken no action against the charity, despite pressure from both the United States and India.
"We don't have any evidence of Jamaat-ud-Dawa involvement in terrorist activities, nor has the United States shared any evidence with us," Aslam said.
The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Saeed was put under house arrest because of some statements he had made. "Hafiz Saeed has not been connected to any terrorist plot or terrorist incident," she added.
Following the July 11 bomb attacks on Mumbai's rail system that killed over 180 people, Indian officials accused Lashkar-e-Taiba of being involved, though a spokesman for the militant group issued a denial. Speculation that Jamaat-ud-Dawa could be linked to the airline bomb plot in Britain surfaced after western media reports that investigators were tracking funds transferred to Islamic relief organisations.
There are a number of such charities in Pakistan. Several of them, like Jamaat-ud-Dawa, are linked to militant groups, some of which have links to al Qaeda.
Pakistan, UK, charity, terrorism, Jamaat ud Dawa, al Qaeda
Charity News Online
The decision to put the chief of an Islamic charity, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, under house arrest last week had nothing to do with an investigation into a conspiracy to blow up transatlantic airliners in mid-air, Pakistan said Tuesday. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, was placed under house arrest at his home in the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday night, Reuters reports.
Just hours later news broke that British police had arrested 24 British Muslims involved in the conspiracy to blow up planes over U.S. cities, and Pakistan had arrested at least seven suspected conspirators. "Hafiz Saeed's arrest has absolutely nothing to do with this case," Tasnim Aslam, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told a regular weekly news conference.
Saeed, the founder and former head of Lashkar-e-Taiba, one of the most-feared jihadi groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, has been placed under house arrest for just a month, according to an aide in Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United States put Jamaat-ud-Dawa on its list of terrorist organizations earlier this year. Security analysts say it is little more than a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba. Though it banned Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2002, Pakistan has taken no action against the charity, despite pressure from both the United States and India.
"We don't have any evidence of Jamaat-ud-Dawa involvement in terrorist activities, nor has the United States shared any evidence with us," Aslam said.
The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Saeed was put under house arrest because of some statements he had made. "Hafiz Saeed has not been connected to any terrorist plot or terrorist incident," she added.
Following the July 11 bomb attacks on Mumbai's rail system that killed over 180 people, Indian officials accused Lashkar-e-Taiba of being involved, though a spokesman for the militant group issued a denial. Speculation that Jamaat-ud-Dawa could be linked to the airline bomb plot in Britain surfaced after western media reports that investigators were tracking funds transferred to Islamic relief organisations.
There are a number of such charities in Pakistan. Several of them, like Jamaat-ud-Dawa, are linked to militant groups, some of which have links to al Qaeda.
Pakistan, UK, charity, terrorism, Jamaat ud Dawa, al Qaeda
posted by Lisa Vronskaya at 6:42 PM
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