 Jamaatud Dawa – labelled a terrorist organisation by the US – denied on Wednesday it had links with Al Qaeda, as Washington imposes financial sanctions on its leader.
The Bush administration moved on Tuesday to implement sanctions against four alleged top figures in Lashkar-e-Taiba. The US Treasury described the group as a “dangerous Al Qaeda affiliate that has demonstrated its willingness to murder innocent civilians”. The sanctions mean any assets of the four found in the US will be blocked and that US citizens are forbidden from doing business with the four.
The treasury named the group’s chief as Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of the Jamaatud Dawa group that emerged after the Pakistani government banned Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2001. In April 2006, the US State Department listed Jamaatud Dawa and its affiliate Idara Khidmat-e-Khalq as terrorist organisations for being “aliases” of Lashkar-e Taiba. They however claim to be religious organisations that promote Islamic education and do charitable work. Jamaatud Dawa denies involvement in militancy. Its spokesman Muhammad Yahya Mujahid denied on Wednesday that Saeed was still involved in Lashkar-e-Taiba and claimed the US statement was “based (on) enmity with Islam, lack of knowledge and ignorance”.
| Lack of knowledge and ignorance have always frightened me. They seem so similar, yet they're so much alike. |
“America cannot prove in any court in the world Hafiz Muhammad Saeed’s links with incidents of terrorism,” Mujahid said in a statement. “The recent step by America is a result of Indian propaganda
| "Death to the Heathen Hindoo!" |
and an effort to pressure Pakistan’s government.” The US Treasury said Saeed plays a key role in Lashkar-e-Taiba’s operational and fundraising activities globally. |