Don’t donate hides to banned organisations

The aim and objective of donating hides of sacrificial animals on Eid-ul-Azha is to help the poor and needy persons, orphans and widows. Charitable organizations also collect hides and skins, and the money thus generated by selling those hides by them is spent on mosques, Madaris and preaching of Islam. For the last two decades, militant organizations also collected hides of sacrificial animals on Eid-ul-Azha under various pretexts including Madaris, Jihad and for the welfare of deprived Muslims, but the money generated by them is spent on suicide bombings and other terrorist activities. Therefore, many Ulema have issued fatwas stopping the people from give hides of sacrificial animals to anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan organizations. According to National Action Plan, disrupting terrorists’ financing network is essential to combat terrorism, as without effective check on terrorist financing, fight against terrorism may not produce desired results.
The hide collection is done in a very organized manner in Pakistan. Usually, the charity groups, the administrators of local mosques, and the representatives of religious and political parties launch door to door campaign before the Eid al- Azha asking them to donate hides to them. Banned militant organizations have been fundraising millions of dollars on the occasion of Eid al-Azha. Due to lack of trust in state institutions, most Pakistanis preferred to donate money, give zakat during month of Ramadan and hides directly to private welfare organizations. Although quite a lot of legitimate charity bodies are doing remarkable work in Pakistan, extremist groups are the ones who rake in millions of Pakistani rupees during Ramadan and Eid to fund their activities.
Though the government has taken number of steps to curb flow of terrorists’ funds, yet it requires extensive media campaign to create awareness in general public regarding terrorists fund raising system. As the holy festival of Eid-ul-Azha is approaching, general public must ensure that their alms and charity do not land in the hands of those people who are involved in murderous rampage in the country. Those Mosques, Madaris and charity organizations that have any association with Al-Qaeda, DAISH, TTP or any other affiliated organizations should not be given hides and skins of sacrificial animals. Last year, the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) had urged Pakistanis not to donate the hides of their sacrificial animals to terrorist organizations. In a public service message on its website, the NACTA authority said that you could unwittingly become a facilitator of terrorism if you intentionally or unintentionally donate hides to a banned organization.
NACTA had asked people to dial its helpline 1717 if they need to report problems related to this warning for Eid-ul-Azha. The website also has the list of banned organizations, and the people should not donate hides to any one of those organizations. National dailies should also start campaign in this regard voluntarily and should not expect any payment from the government.