ISLAMABAD: A top jihadi leader in Pakistan is now scared of the jihadis and is seeking a bullet-proof vehicle to protect himself.
Hafiz Saeed, founder of the Jamaat-ul-Dawah, and before that Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, has applied for the import of an armoured vehicle, sources here reveal.
“It is respectfully intimated that due to various incidents of terrorism in Pakistan, it has been decided to provide safeguard to Hafiz Saeed, (the chief of) Jamaat-ul-Dawah, through import of a fully armoured vehicle,” a letter, written to the Interior Ministry by the Jamaat-ul-Dawah, reads.
Sources say this is the first instance of a jihadi leader making such a request as several jihadi leaders like Chairman United Jihad Council Syed Salahuddin and Chairman Jaish-e-Mohamed Masood Azhar do not have bullet-proof vehicles.
Even mainstream politico-religious leaders that support jihad like Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad have no armoured vehicle though Jamiat Ulema Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has been provided this facility as he is an important coalition leader of the Pakistan People’s Party-led government.
Saeed not only seeks official permission for a bullet-proof vehicle, the letter he has written also requests exemption of import duty on “humanitarian grounds.”
“It is further requested that the Federal Board of Revenue may also be directed to exempt the motor vehicle from the levy of all sorts of duties and taxes on humanitarian grounds,” the letter requests.
When contacted, Jamaat-ul-Dawah spokesman confirmed the request. But unlike the threats to the life of Saeed spelled out in the letter, Yahya Mujahid, the spokesman, claimed the leader was under “threat from the Indian side,” making an oblique reference of the outfit’s militant activities in Indian-administered Kashmir.
He refused to provide further details, saying he does not take too much interest in security-related matters. The letter sent months ago has not been approved by different intelligence agencies who are reluctant to give clearance, an official source said. — Internews |
