Amid global concerns that terrorists may take advantage of the devastating floods in Pakistan, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), blamed by India for the Mumbai attacks, has claimed that it has received donations for the deluge-hit people from "hundreds" of British-Muslims. The JuD, which acts as a front for the Lashkar-e-Tayiba that carried out the 2008 strikes in Mumbai leaving 166 people dead, is said to have significant support in the UK, The Sunday Times reported.
Atteeq Chohan, a JuD spokesman in Peshawar, said: "Hundreds of individuals from the Muslim community in Britain are contributing to our relief activities for flood-hit people in Pakistan." His remarks follow a warning by John Kerry, Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that terrorists may take advantage of the worst floods in Pakistan in 80 years to increase their weight.
Besides, the international community is worried that extremists are trying to win support on the ground by delivering aid to the victims. Chohan claimed that the JuD was helping 35,000 flood victims and had more than 3,000 aid workers in 69 relief camps and 150 medical centres across the country. Khalid Mahmood, the British Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said: "There are at least 500 JuD activists operating in the UK, collecting money at mosques. A bucket will go around marked 'Pakistan Appeal', and people will put money in not knowing where it is really going."
Activists in Pakistan are also targeting British donors via Facebook, the report said. The unprecedented deluge in Pakistan has soaked one fifth of its land, killed more than 1,500 people and impacted an estimated population of 20 million with around 6 million in need of emergency aid, which included 3.5 million children.
