Banned by the UN Security Council after Mumbai attacks, Pakistan-based Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) has reincarnated itself under a new name to escape any restrictions on its activities, officials said here on Thursday.

JuD, a front organisation of banned Lashkar-e-Toiba, has apparently renamed itself as ‘Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool’ (Movement for defending the honour of God), sources said. The JuD’s move to rename itself is clearly aimed at avoiding curbs which Pakistan could be forced to apply because of UNSC sanctions of last December 11.

The indication of JuD having changed its name came when senior cadres of the outfit organised a rally in Pakistan under the banner of Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool (THR), the sources said. “We have come to know they (JuD) have started off in a new name,” Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told AIR, adding the website of the outfit is also still being updated.

In fact, JuD itself is a reincarnated version of LeT, coming into being after the latter was banned by the US seven years ago. Formed in 1990 in Kunar province of Afghanistan, LeT does not believe in democracy and Saeed, its founder leader, has publicly declared it several times that ‘jihad’ is the “only way Pakistan can move towards dignity and prosperity”.

India feels that Pakistan is using ‘jihadis’ as “one of the arms of diplomacy” and hence, it is not taking any action except “tokenism” against JuD despite the UNSC ban after November 26 Mumbai attacks. The UNSC proscribed JuD after it was found to be involved in the Mumbai attacks, not only by India but also the US, UK and other countries.

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