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Lashkar's parent organisation splits

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 19. The Jamaatud Dawa (JD), believed to be Pakistan's largest militant group and parent organisation of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has split, according to the Pakistan English daily, Daily Times.

A Lahore datelined report said that the breakaway faction, named Khairun Naas (KN), mainly consisted of Lashkar members.

Some of them have vowed to kill Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of the JD, it quoted sources as saying.

Both sides are believed to be planning to take control of the party assets, such as the Markaz-e-Taiba in Muridke, the Markaz Qadsia in Lahore and other valuable properties.

The breakaway faction accused Prof. Saeed of "nepotism," diverting the party from its "original objective" and "unfair distribution of funds."

The Khairun Nas was also unhappy at Prof. Saeed's second marriage to a killed "comrade's" widow.

According to the report, the differences within the JD arose five years ago when Prof. Saeed appointed his brother-in-law, Maulana Abdul Rehman Makki, then a teacher at the Medina University in Saudi Arabia, the foreign affairs head of the party as well as his second-in-command.

Zafar Iqbal, one of the founders of the JD and head of its education department, felt he deserved the post as the seniormost member.

Prof. Iqbal, an Arrain, accused Prof. Saeed of promoting the "Gujjar baradri" to which he belonged.

Prof. Saeed's son, Talha Saeed, married Maulana Makki's daughter.

Members of the splinter group alleged that Prof. Saeed's son-in-law, Khalid Waleed, the media head of the party, had connections with car smugglers and was damaging the party's image.

Prof. Saeed married the 28-year-old widow of Abu Musa, who was killed in Srinagar, two years ago.

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