Srinagar: The Pakistan government has banned donation of skins of sacrificial animals by Muslims on Id-ul-Zuha to the organisations and groups which it says are involved in terrorism. Some of the “blacklisted” outfits are active in Jammu and Kashmir as well.
The neighbouring country’s interior ministry has issued a list of 71 such organisations and groups and said that under the law it is crime to donate the skins of the animals sacrificed on Id-ul-Zuha to these. The festival is being celebrated by the Muslims of South Asia at the weekend.
“Under the law of the country, it is a crime to donate the skins (of sacrificial animals) to the organisations which are involved in activities related to terrorism,” a notification issued by it said. It appealed to the people to donate the skins of sacrificial animals on the Id “only to such aid organisation which are involved in purely charity work and have not been proscribed under any domestic or foreign law.”
At least, three of the ‘blacklisted’ organisations are active in Jammu and Kashmir, as well. These are Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Tehrik-e-Azad-i-Kashmir.
Also figure in the list are Jama’at-ud-Da’wah of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed which has had sanctions placed against it as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations, the Daish (ISIS) and Al Qaeda.
At least fourteen blacklisted outfits are active in Balochistan. These include Balochistan Liberation United Front, Baluchistan Liberation Army and Baluchistan United Army. Half a dozen outfits which figure in the list are operating in Gilgit, Baltistan region.
The organisations barred from receiving the skins of sacrificial animals, alms and charity for their involved in terrorist activities within Pakistan include Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Tehrik-e-Jafriya Pakistan and Hizb-ul-Tehrir. Most of these organisations and outfits have already been banned by the Pakistan government but almost all continue to operate clandestinely.
Pakistanis are projected to spend Rs 200 billion this Id, sacrificing an estimated 3 million sheep, goats, cows, bulls, buffaloes and camels. Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) had after the last year’s Eid collected nearly 7.5 million hides and skin.
