Lahore, Nov.7 (ANI): Jammat-ud-Dawah (JuD) leader Hafeez Sayeed's lawyer A K Dogar said on Monday that the outfit has never been banned in Pakistan in reponse to the Pakistan Government releasing a new list of 31 banned terror outfits that did not include the JuD.
The list was released by the Pakistan Interior Ministry over the weekend as part of efforts to bar such groups from collecting the hides of animals sacrificed during the Eid-ul-Azha festival.
Hundreds of hides collected every year by members of the groups are sold to raise funds.
Though the Lashkar-e-Taiba was included in the new list, the JuD was not on it.
In the wake of the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, the UN Security Council had declared the JuD a front for the LeT.
After the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan had insisted that the JuD had been banned. However, during a hearing in the Lahore High Court in 2009, a senior law officer admitted that no notification had been issued to ban the JuD.
The new list of banned groups includes Jaish-e-Mohammed and its front organisation Khuddam-ul-Islam, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and its front organisation Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Jaafria Pakistan, Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi and Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
Other groups on the list are Tehrik-e-Islami, Jamiat-ul-Ansar, Jamiat-ul-Furqan, Khair-un-Naas International rust, Islamic Students Movement of Pakistan, Islami Tehreek Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Islam, Ansar-ul-Islam, Haji Namdar Group, Balochistan Liberation Army, Balochistan Republican Army, Balochistan Liberation Front, Lashkar-e-Balochistan, Balochistan Liberation United Front and Balochistan Musallah Difa Tanzeem.
New additions to the list included People's Aman Committee of Karachi, Shia Tulaba Action Committee of Gilgit, Markaz Sabeel Organisation of Gilgit and Tanzeem-e-Naujawanan-e-Sunnat of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Interior Ministry warned that any members of the banned groups found collecting animal hides during Eid-ul-Azha would be booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
It also said that members of the banned groups cannot assemble, maintain offices, continue their activities and operate bank accounts, an official statement said.
The Interior Ministry said all persons who want to collect hides will have to obtain permission from the district administration. (ANI)
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