Jamaat-ud-Dawa alias Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool

NEW DELHI, Jan 1: Is Pakistan-based Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), front organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba, preparing to reincarnate under a new name in the wake of a  ban clamped on it by the UN Security Council for its involvement in Mumbai terror attacks?

According to sources here, JuD may be planning to rename itself as ‘Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool’ (Movement for defending the honour of God) to avoid restrictions which Pakistan could be forced to impose on it because of UNSC sanctions.

The indication that JuD may be thinking of changing its name came as some senior cadres of the outfit recently organised a rally in Pakistan under the banner of Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool (THR), the sources said.

In fact, JuD itself is a reincarnation of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) after the latter was banned by the US seven years ago.

Formed in 1990 in Kunar province of Afghanistan, LeT does not believe in democracy and Saeed, its founder leader, has publicly declared it several times that ‘jihad’ is the “only way Pakistan can move towards dignity and prosperity”.

India feels that Pakistan is using ‘jihadis’ as “one of the arms of diplomacy” and due to this reason, it is not taking any action except “tokenism” against JuD despite the UNSC ban imposed on December 11 in the wake of November 26 Mumbai attacks.

New Delhi contends that JuD continues to engage in various kinds of activities under the garb of education and “so-called charities”, with Islamabad turning a blind eye to it in “flagrant violation” of international law.

In this context, the sources said the headquarters of JuD or LeT in Muridke near Lahore continues to be functional.

JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who is supposedly under house arrest, is said to be freely moving about though in a restricted manner escaping the media gaze, the sources said.

India is peeved at the special treatment being meted out to Saeed by Pakistan, contending that he should be put in a regular prison rather than “so-called house arrest” since he has been accused of involvement in heinous crimes.

Pakistan has also not imposed any restrictions on publication of magazines and other literature by JuD, despite these activities being prohibited by the UNSC resolution, the sources said.

“There is anything but compliance with the UNSC resolution by Pakistan,” they said.

The UNSC could be approached to highlight how Pakistan is disregarding its resolution but there is a view in Delhi that reasonable time should be given before this option is utilised.

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