Security agencies raided the base camp of Al Rehmat Trust in Haripur on Sunday night and took 25 workers, including the director of the camp, and five truckloads of relief goods into custody, trust officials told Daily Times. The Islamic charity is believed to have links to banned militant outfit Jaish e-Mohammed. The raid comes following media reports that Western relief agencies are becoming wary of the presence of religious relief organisations working in the earthquake-hit areas. The government has not given any reason for the raid. “I don’t know why they raided our base camp. Perhaps it is a message for all other Islamic charities working in the area to pack up and leave,” Maulana Asmatullah Muawia, the head in Kashmir of Al Rehmat Trust, told Daily Times from Muzzafarabad. “All I can say is that the raid has been conducted at the behest of the Americans and it was meant to discourage us as well as the other religious organisations working in the area,” said Maulana Asmat. “They haven’t released any of our workers and officials so far. Our management in Islamabad is in touch with the authorities and there is a hope that they will be released. On the night of the raid we didn’t even know who carried out the raid as the local police was not aware of what was going on,” he said.
Several Islamic groups including Jamatud Dawaa, Al Khidmat, Al Suffa and Al Rehmat Trust set up relief camps in the earthquake-hit areas soon after the October 8 tragedy. There are believed to be around 20,000 religious relief workers operating in the area.