JuD actively using Internet to mobilise funds

The Jamaat-ud-Dawah has stepped up its use of the internet and social media, including Twitter and Facebook, to raise funds for its activities and to spread propaganda aimed at fomenting unrest in India.

Following a recent revamp of its website, which continued functioning despite some restrictions imposed on the group in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the JuD became active on Twitter and Facebook.

In a message posted on its Twitter account and its Facebook page on July 26, the JuD sought donations to be used for projects of the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation, widely considered a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

"You may contact us for donations, we will ensure that our representative reaches you physically to collect Zakah and

Fitra for ongoing Falah-e-Insaniyat - FIF projects - You may inbox us for queries regarding donations," the message said.

Reports from several Pakistani cities, including Islamabad and Lahore, said the JuD's front organisations had stepped up their campaign to collect donations since the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramzan.