Eager to portray itself as a charitable organisation and not just a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) – “as made out by the international media” -- the Jama’at-ud-Da’wah (JuD) on Friday despatched Rs. 60 lakh worth of relief material to the flood-affected Sindh province from the federal capital in full view of the Fourth Estate.
Claiming that JuD is a civil society organisation, political affairs chief Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki said it was engaged in relief work across Sindh and there were no restrictions on its activities as “the Lahore High Court and a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had granted us relief after a ban was imposed on us under international pressure”.
Besides, he added, how can relief work be banned? As for the accusation that JuD is a jihadi organisation, Mr. Makki’s counter was: “What jihad can we do with relief material?” Earlier, he underlined the fact that JuD relief camps across Sindh were providing food and assistance to a large number of Hindus in the province. Asked about reports of discrimination towards minorities in flood assistance in some camps in Sindh, he asserted that it is important to provide aid to the needy without any biases.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has taken note of media reports claiming that Scheduled Caste Hindus were denied assistance and entry into some relief camps for being “untouchables”. Calling for a report from the provincial government he has ordered that immediate assistance be provided to all marooned people irrespective of caste and creed; adding that any discrimination in this regard was unacceptable.
