Beware! Pak terror outfits seeking hides of animal sacrificed on Eid

New Delhi: As the festival of sacrifice due in September, Pakistani terror organisations seeking coveted hides in the name of mosques, madarasa and trusts.

According to a report published in Times today, intelligence input from Punjab province (Pakistan), shared with the home ministry, collection of animal hides contributes in a big way to the funding of outfits that are either banned or under observation in Pakistan.

The collection of hides, which are then sold to tanneries, is done through front outfits of banned/under observation groups such as Jaish, Jamaat-ud-Dawah, Tehreek Ghalba-e-Islam, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and other to avert legal action.

While Jaish issues receipts in the name of Al-Rehmat Trust and HuM and Ansar-ul-Ummah in the name of Al-Hilal Trust. JuD uses Falah-e-Insaniyat as a front to raise funds,

Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) is the charitable wing of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), itself the reincarnation of one of south Asia’s most dangerous militant groups, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a banned organisation dedicated to fighting jihad against India.

JuD has successfully fought off legal bans although many believe it remains deeply involved in militancy.

The US government has offered $10m (£6m) for information leading to the arrest of Hafiz Saeed, the group’s leader accused by some US officials of masterminding and overseeing the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Saeed moves around the country freely.

As per the Punjab (Pakistan) home department estimates, as many as 10 million animals were sacrificed on Eid-ul-Zuha last year and their hides evaluated at 35,000 million Pakistani rupees.

According to another estimate, a cow hide can fetch up to $50, sources said.