HYDERABAD, May 15: Hundreds of Hindus and Christians marched here on Monday in support of two Muslim charities labelled as terrorist organisations by the United States. The US State Department said this month that the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its affiliate, Idara-i-Khidmat-i-Khalq, were fronts for Lashkar-i-Taiba, one of the militant groups fighting Indian-held Kashmir.

Holding placards and banners, up to 800 Hindus and Christians drawn from different parts of the Sindh province paraded on the roads of the Hyderabad city calling the US decision “cruel”.

“Helping mankind is not terrorism,” read one of the placards.

The protesters urged the government not to comply with the US decision. “If the government took any action against the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and the Idara-i-Khidmat-i-Khalq, then the minority community of Sindh will be compelled to march towards Islamabad,” the resolution said.

The Jamaat-ud-Dawa has been prominent in the providing relief in northern areas devastated by earthquake. The charity is also involved in welfare activities in rural areas of Sindh where most of Pakistan’s tiny Hindu community lives.—Reuters