JuD 'astonished' over funds from Pak Punjab govt

The Jamaat-ud-Daawa, the front face of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayiba has said that it was itself "astonished" over the Punjab government allotting nearly $1 million for it in the budget for the current fiscal year.

"The truth is that we are ourselves astonished at this," the BBC quoted JuD spokesman Hafiz Abdur Rehman as saying.

"When restrictions were initially imposed upon us, the Punjab government did appoint an administrator but it was neither liked nor accepted by our people. By the grace of God, now everything is running exactly the way it was running under the Jamaat''s system," he added.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah had earlier confirmed that the provincial government had allocated at least Rs 80 million for institutions linked with the JuD, whose chief Hafeez Saeed is the prime accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

"At least Rs 80 million ($9,40,000) have been allocated for the institutions (linked to the JuD) during the current fiscal year," Sanaullah had said.

He, however, maintained that the institutions, which include two schools and a hospital -- were no longer attached to the JuD.

"The government has taken control of the schools and appointed an administrator to run each of them," Sanaullah said, who himself has been accused of hobnobbing with leaders of another banned terror organisation Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan during recent local elections in Lahore.