Pakistan was placed in the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list for failing to curb terror financing just about two months back. It then promised an action plan to curb fund-raising by terrir groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and JeM in order to become eligible for removal from the FATF Grey List.
Now barely two months have elapsed after Pakistan being put on a global watch list for failing to do enough to counter terror financing, evidence have emerged of Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives collecting funds after Eid-ul-Azha prayers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
These videos, have been snapped at a venue for Eid prayers at Domel sub-district of Bannu district last Tuesday. It depicts members of the banned terrorist group JeM and Al Rahmat Trust, another banned front organisation of the terror group led by Masood Azhar, openly begging for funds for jihad against the US and India.
These videos, which have become viral on social media, show the terrorists of JeM and Al Rahmat Trust collecting funds while standing a short distance from policemen from the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has been ruled by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party of new Prime Minister Imran Khan, since 2013. The party recently returned to power in provincial elections.
In one video, two men are holding up a sheet of cloth containing a sizeable amount of cash as a third man, speaking in a mix of Urdu and Pashto, asks people attending the Eid prayers to contribute for the “jihad by Muslims” against the “kafir” forces in America and India.
The man seeking funds repeatedly states he is collecting funds for the JeM, which was banned by Pakistan in 2002, and tries to stop filming by the man who shot the video. He states that harm is being done to Muslims under the “leadership of kafirs” and that the JeM is action to protect the brotherhood of Muslims.
The second video features a man dressed in black exhorting people to join the jihad and support it. He says he belongs to the JeM and Al Rahmat Trust, which has been listed by the US and the UN as a front for the JeM. In 2010, the US said the trust has provided support for militant activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan and was involved in fund-raising for JeM, including for militant training and indoctrination.
