Lucrative opportunity: FIF starts campaign to collect animal hides

Home Dept tells court govt has not banned FIF, dept report says otherwise

LAHORE:

The Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) – an offshoot of Jamatud Dawa – has launched its campaign to collect the hides of sacrificial animals amid contradictory position of the Punjab Home Department on a ban on the organisation. The department had listed the organisation among others as banned to collect hides in a confidential report (available with The Express Tribune) issued on August 26. In Lahore High Court on Monday, the department claimed that the FIF was not a banned organisation. It said it should obtain an NOC from the DCO if it wanted to collect animal hides.

Meanwhile, the FIF set up camps in various parts of the city on Monday where it displayed banners and placards urging citizens to give them the hides of animals sacrificed on Eidul Azha.

On August 26, Col Syed Wajahat Irfan Hamdani, additional secretary (internal security) of the Punjab Home Department, had issued a circular with the subject: Collection of Sacrificial Hides by Defunct Jehadi Organisations. The circular was sent to divisional commissioners, regional police offices and the capital city police officer. It says: “The government has desired to ensure that no campaign for the collection of sacrificial hides by proscribed organisations is to take place in your area of responsibility.”



The confidential report attached to the notification says several banned jihadi/sectarian organisations have recently become active in collecting zakat, alms and donations. It says they have been “flexing their muscles for collection of animal sacrificial hides on the eve of upcoming Eidul Azha, which contributes a lot to the funding of such banned outfits”.

The report says last year, sacrificial hides worth Rs35 billion had been collected. It adds that among the prominent banned organisations, which as per previous practice, would sprightly run the campaign and collect a huge number of sacrificial hides this year, include: the JDP, Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation, Jaish-i-Muhammad, Al-Rehmat Trust, Tehreek Ghalba-i-Islam, and Harkatul Mujahideen, Ansarul Ummah, Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, Al Esar Trust, and Sunni Tehreek among others. The local leaders of such entities motivate likeminded people and assigns the task of collection of hides to their activists, it said.

It added that these organisations’ activists visited various areas to coax likeminded people to donate to their organisations on the basis of their philosophy of jihad. Apart from urging the masses at Friday congregations and at other religious gatherings, these organisations also preach their cause through pamphlets and banners, the report said.

The report added: “it has been observed that the banned organisations use their front organisations to avert legal action against them, for instance, Jamatud Dawa Pakistan uses Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation, Jaish-i-Muhammad issues receipts of Al-Rehmat Trust, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen receives donations on receipts of Al-Hilal Trust and Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamat uses Al-Esar Welfare Trust for this purpose.”

However, Col Syed Wajahat Irfan Hamdani’s reply to FIF’s petition challenging the ban before the Lahore High Court, delivered by Home Department Section Officer Muhammad Latif on Monday, said, “As per available record, Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation is not listed as a proscribed/banned organisation by the government of Pakistan till date.” He further said that if they wanted to collect hides they needed to seek an NOC from the DCO.

In light of the statement, Justice Mahmood Maqbool Bajwa of the LHC disposed of the petition and asked the FIF to approach the district coordination officer to fulfil requisite formalities in this regard.

A spokesperson of the DCO told The Express Tribune that an NOC was necessary to collect hides as donations. He said they had not issued any NOC in this regard so far and those who were campaigning for hides were doing it illegally.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd,   2015.