RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has directed the Rawalpindi’s district administration to conduct a survey for taking under its control more seminaries and health units run by the banned Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) and to seek information from cantonment administrations about the activities of the group in their areas.

Also, the Islamabad administration has presented a report to the federal government about JuD’s health and education units which it has taken under its control.

Taking action against JuD, the Islamabad Capital Territory’s (ICT) administration has taken under its control three JuD-run dispensaries in a rural area and confiscated more than three ambulances.

Islamabad Deputy Commissioner retired Captain Mushtaq Ahmed told Dawn that the ICT administration had taken over three health facilities and seven ambulances in Shareefabad, Ghouri Town and Quba Mosque I-8/ Markaz in the federal capital.

ICT sends report about action taken against the group to federal government

“The ICT health department looks after the dispensaries while the ambulances have been handed over to Red Crescent,” he said.

In response to a question about the JuD central markaz in Islamabad’s I-8, the deputy commissioner said there was no seminary there. He said the government had directed them to take over seminaries, schools and dispensaries, and not mosques.

However, he said JuD had been stopped from conducting any activity at the I-8 mosque. He said three cases had been registered at Shahzad town, Karal and Golra police stations against advertisement for the collection of charity last week.

He said the ICT conducted a survey in Islamabad and found that no seminary or school was run by JuD. The report in this regard had been sent to the federal government, he added.

On the directives of the Punjab government, the Rawalpindi district administration has taken control of the JuD seminary Hudaibia Madressah on Chakra Road and asked the Auqaf department to administer it. It has also taken over four dispensaries of Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation — a charity organisation of JuD.

There were many mosques in the city which were run by JuD, but the main focus of the government was to take under its control seminaries and dispensaries, said Auqaf regional administrator Zahid Iqbal while talking to Dawn.

“At present, we control a seminary in Rawalpindi, not mosques as mostly activities are held in seminaries, schools and health units,” he added.

Mosque Al-Quds on Kashmir Road in Saddar is the JuD’s main district markaz.

Last year, a private group received permission from the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board for the construction of a commercial-cum-education building on a plot. But after receiving information that JuD was behind the project and it wanted to construct a mosque and seminary on the plot, the cantonment board had stopped the work.

An official of the cantonment board told Dawn that the civic body stopped the work on the site soon after it came to know that the school and seminary would be established in the building.

“We gave the permission to the private organisation; however, intelligence agencies informed us that JuD was behind this. After this, law enforcement agencies conducted a survey in the area to find the ownership of the buildings,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2018