Rejecting Pakistan's claim that Jamaat-ud-Dawah, designated as a front for the Lashker-e- Taiba by the UN, is a charity, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that Washington has learnt the hard way that sometimes these groups are too intertwined with the bodies that have terrorist ties.
Talking to reporters, Rice said the US would press Pakistan as also other member states to adhere completely to the United Nations decision to ban the Jamaat, freeze its assets and deny travel visas to its leaders.
The US expects that Pakistan would cooperate as it itself faces the problem of terrorism and its dire consequences, she said.
Pakistan, Rice said, now has a new civilian government that is legitimate, wants to deal with the world in good faith and wants to be respected in the international politics. It also wants to deal with terrorism problem.
Rice comment's come in the wake of Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reportedly saying that charitable arms of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah will not be closed down.
The reports from Pakistan suggest that it might easing restrictions on the organisation which is parent body of Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) said to be involved in the Mumbai terror attacks.
Media reports had also said that JUD had transferred millions of dollars of funds into accounts which would be difficult to locate and analysts have expressed the fear that it might start operating under a different name.
