RAWALPINDI - The Section 144 imposed by City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) for collection of sacrificial animal hides went into the air as the banned outfits openly established their camps numbering in hundreds and collected hides of sacrificial animals without any hurdle.
The local police and district administration turned a blind eye towards the issue as one could see the collection camps, set up by Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) with its new name Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation; Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (Millat-e-Islamia); Jaish-e-Muhammad (Alfurqan and Khauddam-ul-Islam), at Chaklala Scheme-III, Raja Bazaar, Liaquat Bagh, Dhamial, Asharaf Colony, Quaid-e-Azam Colony, Chakri Road, Ahmedabad, Bakra Mandi, Dhoke Seydan, Baraf Khana Chowk, Dheri Hassanabad, Lalkurti, Dhoke Juma, Khuwaja Corporation, Mubarak Lane, Chungi Number 20, Morgah, Gae Chowk (on Rawal Road), Sadiqabad Chowk, Kuri Road, Khana Bridge, Jhanda Chichee, Chuher Chowk, Pirwadhai Mor and so many other localities.
“We have collected more hides as compared to that of the last year despite the imposition of ban on us by the American patronized government in the country,” said a worker of JuD sitting on a camp while talking to TheNation on condition of anonymity. Similarly, various other religious and political parties also collected sacrificial animals’ hides. These included Jammat-e-Islami, Sunni Tehrik, Jamiat Ullema Islam and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI).
However, City Police Officer (CPO) Azhar Hameed Khokhar, during a chat with TheNation, strongly denied any such activity anywhere in the district during Eid-ul-Azha. He said that the police did not allow the banned outfits to collect hides of sacrificial animals.
He said that the police have uprooted the camps of banned outfits from the streets and on the roads besides removing banners and posters installed by the banned outfits requesting people to give them the skins of sacrificial animals.
When asked if any member of banned outfit offered resistance during police action or had police arrested the members of banned outfits, the CPO replied that no body resisted as police already told them that the government had imposed a ban on collection of skins of animals adding neither police locked up members of the banned outfits nor impounded their vehicles in police stations. JuD’s two key activists, when contacted by this scribe on phone, expressed their satisfaction over the collection of hides of sacrificial animals from the district despite a ban on it. They said, “The result is very good. We have set up our camps in every street and road where people gave us animal hides in large number”.
They said that JuD has deep roots among people. “We have very good approach to the people in every nook and corner of the country as well as in the district. The American puppet government and its aides cannot bar us from collecting hides of animal skins from the people, who love and respect JuD because of its priceless services for the humanity”, they said.
One of the activists was of view that JuD was not a banned outfit as Lahore High Court (LHC) gave its verdict in favour of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed Ahmed. He said that the court allowed the Jamaat for preaching, raising funds and doing social welfare works. He said that JuD did not believe on sectarianism and loved Pakistan a lot. He said that people expressed their trust over the Jamaat. “The JuD Chief and its activist thanked the people for giving them hides of sacrificial animals,” he added.