RAWALPINDI, Oct 16: The Counter Terrorism Department has informed the Punjab government to stop banned outfits including Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from collecting hides of sacrificial animals  and those involved in it should be booked under Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), it has been learnt.

The Punjab police chief through a letter was informed that various religious organisations, including proscribed outfits setup camps to collect sacrificial hides on the occasion of Eidul Azha every year, but no effective action has been taken against them.

It is also said: “It is high time that all stakeholders, including police and district administration take effective steps to stop banned organisations – including TTP, Jamaatud Dawa proscribed by United Nations from setting up camps to collect sacrificial hides on Eid day.”

The letter sent to the IGP contained the names of 40 organisations and outfits banned by the federal government and the United Nations.“The soft handling of such organisations will earn a bad name for the country,” it was said.

The banned organisations included, Jamaatud Dawa, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, while Sunni Tehrik (ST) had been kept under observation by the federal government.

A senior police official when contacted said no banned organisation will be allowed to setup its camp or collection points in the city during Eid days.

He further said anybody who tried to violate the government ban to collect hides or raise funds will be resisted and brought to justice according to the law.