Charity condemns UN sanctions

Islamabad: The head of Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) yesterday denounced the imposition of United Nations sanctions against the organisation as a decision taken in indecent haste and without hearing its version.

Denying that the JuD was a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group blamed for the Mumbai attacks, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed told a news conference in Lahore that JuD was not in any way involved in the attacks.

He said the UN acted in a biased manner under pressure from the US and India, adding that the organisation would take the issue to the International Court of Justice and also seek justice in Pakistani courts.

The UN Security Council sanctions committee late on Wednesday declared JuD a terrorist group and subjected it to UN sanctions, including an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.

Saeed said his organisation had been engaged only in relief work and abhorred terrorism, violence and the killing of innocents.

He said JuD had been running 156 dispensaries, eight hospitals and a string of schools in the country and participated actively in rescue and relief during emergencies.

He rebutted reports in the Indian media that one of the Mumbai terrorists captured alive told investigators he met him [Saeed) in Dubai. Saeed said he has never been to Dubai

The UN sanctions committee targetted Mohammad Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Haji Mohammad Ashraf and Mahmoud Mohammad Ahmad Bahaziq. Lakhvi was one of the two LeT leaders that Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said was arrested on Wednesday. He and Zarar Shah, the other detainee, were allegedly key planners of the Mumbai incident in which 172 people were killed.

Both are reportedly senior members of the LeT. Indian media said Lakhvi put together the team of gunmen that carried out the attack, while Shah allegedly arranged the SIM cards and satellite phones.

The sanctions committee also listed two entities that provide LeT with funds - Al Rashid Trust and Al-Akhtar Trust International. Both are subject to UN sanctions.

Reaction: Offices sealed

Pakistan has reportedly closed the offices of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a day after the outfit was declared a terrorist group by the United Nations.

It was unclear whether the moves against nine Jamaat-ud-Dawa premises in the southern city of Karachi represented the beginning of a major crackdown on the group. Its headquarters remained open on Wednesday, as did other branches across the country.

Sindh provincial home secretary Arif Ahmad Khan said nine Jamaat offices in Karachi were "sealed" on Thursday, but gave no details.

Information Minister Sherry Rehman said in a statement Pakistan would bring the UN declaration to the Cabinet for "a decision" on how to respond. She did not say when the Cabinet would meet.

- AP