Pakistan government vs Islamic charities

Pakistan government vs Islamic charities

"Karachi doesn’t go hungry because of Islamic charities." Those were the words of the secretary general of the ruling Pakistan's Peoples Party in Sindh - an acknowledgment of the work of Pakistani groups some of which are suspected of having links to what the United States and United Nations believe are terrorist organisations.

One of those groups is Jamaat au-Dawa. Its so-called relief wing Falah Insaniyat is active across the country providing much-needed assistance to flood victims.

Pakistan's courts have ruled that the group is not involved in illegal activities but the international community thinks otherwise.

The UN says Jamaat au-Dawa is linked to Lahkar-e-Taiba accused by India of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

"Lashkar e Taiba is banned and Jamaat au-Dawa is the new name of Lashkar Taiba but because they have no confrontation with Pakistan army and government, like Tehrik Taliban Pakistan, that is why they can carry out their activities freely in Pakistan," Aamir Latif, the Karachi bureau chief of ONLINE NEWS, explained.

Freely or not and at times using different names, these Islamic charities are working with relative efficiency. That may worry the US and the Pakistani government which are concerned these groups are challenging the central government's authority by their relief work.

'Not banned'

Falahi Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) has been involved in relief work for decades. In fact, after the 2005 earthquake, it was Islamic charities which were among the first to reach survivors.

FIF volunteers like Muez Shehzad don’t shy away from their links to Jamaat-au-Dawa. He  told me: "Our Jamaat-u-Dawa activists work across the country. Jamaat-au-Dawa is not banned by Pakistani courts. The Supreme Court said the party is not involved in illegal activities. We get our funds from the local population ... they have trust in us."

In Pakistan there is a difference between armed groups that target the state and those who fight "for freedom and independence" in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"There is a misconception about Jamaat au-Dawa that it has links to al-Qaeda or pro-Taliban groups," Latif said. "Jamaat au-Dawa is not operational in Afghanistan and Pakistan but in Kashmir."

For flood victims, the debate on which group is regarded as a terrorist movement may not be their concern for the time being. Millions of survivors are receiving little assistance, so what may count is not who they are getting aid from but that they are getting aid at all.

And that is why some argue that the state, which publicly says it is clamping down on activities of illegal parties, may not have much of a choice. The government has been criticised for its slow response to the floods crisis.

"Islamic charities have shared a major burden. If they (authorities) clamp down on such groups, many people won't receive assistance," Latif said.

An angry population is not what the already fragile Pakistani government needs. It has already been accused by Pakistanis of following Washington's dictates.