Despite government restrictions, banned militant groups are believed to have managed a share in the hides of animals slaughtered in the twin cities during the Eidul Azha festival.
Local authorities had no way to catch their proxies and the sympathetic local clergy who openly collected the coveted hides in the name of their mosques, madressahs and religious trusts.
Indeed, some of them are viewed as front offices of banned militant groups, such as the mosque in G-9 Markaz and madressah Jamia Rasheedia in Aabpara whose managers hold key positions in the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), the reincarnation of the banned Sipahe Sahaba Pakistan (SSP).
However, their spokesmen claim the donations they collect are spent on running the institutions.
A senior official of the Islamabad Capital Territory administration told Dawn that the issue of banned groups and their open activities has been raised with the government several times but no policy directives followed. “In the situation the maximum the district administration could do was to deny permission to a certain mosque or madressah to collect skins and hides. But what to do when they don’t seek permission and carry on the business in other ways,” said the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
ASWJ Islamabad information secretary Uneeb Faroqui said the religious party did not manage any mosque or madressah, but it does operate Al-Ehsar Welfare Trust, whose patron is the ASWJ leader, Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi.
“We collect donations, skins, etc., for the welfare trust and it is all with the permission of officials and within the parameters of law,” he told Dawn.
Even in small neighbourhoods, people collected skin and hides for the banned groups, like the Tehreek-i-Islami, which was blamed for the massacre that took place in the Parade Lane in the heart of the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
“I cannot tell details because I am afraid of them but my neighbours who belong to this group asked us for the skin but we politely declined,” said a resident of sector G-15 of Islamabad.
It is a serious but complex issue as there is no ban on mosques to collect donations nor the people and groups affiliated with them are barred from indulging in political activities. All they are required is not to hoist the flags.
An Islamabad based social scientist says that not only the preventive laws suffer from serious lacunas but also their implementation.
“All donations, including the skins and hides of sacrificial animals, go unaccounted for,” he said. “It is up to the management of mosques or any other institution to put whatever figure they want to in the annual statement.”
According to him funds could be channelised not just to terror and other illegal activities but also to political activities. “The issue is that the donor is giving money or skin to a mosque or madressah for its own use and not for the political activities of any unknown party,” he said.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Pakistan: Banned groups get their share in animal hides anyway
Despite government restrictions, banned militant groups are believed to have managed a share in the hides of animals slaughtered in the twin cities during the Eidul Azha festival.
Local authorities had no way to catch their proxies and the sympathetic local clergy who openly collected the coveted hides in the name of their mosques, madressahs and religious trusts.
Indeed, some of them are viewed as front offices of banned militant groups, such as the mosque in G-9 Markaz and madressah Jamia Rasheedia in Aabpara whose managers hold key positions in the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), the reincarnation of the banned Sipahe Sahaba Pakistan (SSP).
However, their spokesmen claim the donations they collect are spent on running the institutions.
A senior official of the Islamabad Capital Territory administration told Dawn that the issue of banned groups and their open activities has been raised with the government several times but no policy directives followed. “In the situation the maximum the district administration could do was to deny permission to a certain mosque or madressah to collect skins and hides. But what to do when they don’t seek permission and carry on the business in other ways,” said the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
ASWJ Islamabad information secretary Uneeb Faroqui said the religious party did not manage any mosque or madressah, but it does operate Al-Ehsar Welfare Trust, whose patron is the ASWJ leader, Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi.
“We collect donations, skins, etc., for the welfare trust and it is all with the permission of officials and within the parameters of law,” he told Dawn.
Even in small neighbourhoods, people collected skin and hides for the banned groups, like the Tehreek-i-Islami, which was blamed for the massacre that took place in the Parade Lane in the heart of the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
“I cannot tell details because I am afraid of them but my neighbours who belong to this group asked us for the skin but we politely declined,” said a resident of sector G-15 of Islamabad.
It is a serious but complex issue as there is no ban on mosques to collect donations nor the people and groups affiliated with them are barred from indulging in political activities. All they are required is not to hoist the flags.
An Islamabad based social scientist says that not only the preventive laws suffer from serious lacunas but also their implementation.
“All donations, including the skins and hides of sacrificial animals, go unaccounted for,” he said. “It is up to the management of mosques or any other institution to put whatever figure they want to in the annual statement.”
According to him funds could be channelised not just to terror and other illegal activities but also to political activities. “The issue is that the donor is giving money or skin to a mosque or madressah for its own use and not for the political activities of any unknown party,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment