Pakistani terrorists doing charity in Gaza, report says
The founder of these charities is Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, a former academic-turned-terrorist leader whom India accuses of playing a role in the November 26, 2008, terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMONA Palestinian boy is seen at the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border.(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, accused of carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is now reportedly engaged in charity work in Gaza.The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)’s Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor has found evidence that the Pakistani group’s charity arms – Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) – are active in the Gaza Strip.Tufail Ahmad, director of the South Asia Studies Project at MEMRI, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that “the move by Lashkar-e-Taiba to establish a footprint in Gaza seems to be part of a well-thought-out jihadist strategy from Pakistan.”It also “validates the global jihadist ambitions of the Pakistani jihadist groups, especially Lashkar- e-Taiba and its charity arms,” he said.The founder of these charities is Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, a former academic-turned-terrorist leader whom India accuses of playing a role in the November 26, 2008, terrorist attacks in Mumbai, according to the MEMRI report, which was released Monday.Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation are seen as a branch of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency, says Ahmad, and “their presence in Gaza could pose a long-term security threat to international peace, especially because Pakistan sees its national interest in Palestine.”Moreover, Pakistan’s army chief Raheel Sharif “recently warned that world peace depends on resolving the Palestine and Kashmir issues,” he added.On December 4-5, the charity groups’ leaders organized a two-day mass rally in Lahore, where Saeed “called for jihad in support of oppressed Muslims everywhere, but especially in Kashmir,” reported MEMRI.The “Palestine”-based Muhammad N. Ziara addressed the rally on the first day as well, the report continued, and tweets by FIF appear to show that Lashkar-e-Taiba and the two charity arms are actively offering aid in Gaza.Ziara’s speech was tweeted at the rally. The opening tweet was “Mohammad N. Ziara Addressing to #IjtemaJUD live from Palestine #Gaza. Discussing #FIFRelief in #Gaza,” according to MEMRI, which also cited tweets such as “We Performed two huge projects in #Gaza Supported by FIF Pakistan: Mohammad N.Ziara #IjtimajUD” and “We had ditributed meat to needy and homeless people of #Gaza: Mohammad N.Ziara #IjtimaJUD.”
Another tweet from the speech read, “Palestinians Suffered a lot under the Jewish occupation of Palestine & now Its time 4 #Ummah to stand together & fight the enemies of islam.”
