Banned jihadist groups radicalize Pakistanis under garb of flood relief efforts

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 27 (ANI): Jihadist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba along with other banned terror outfits have now resurfaced in Pakistan and are spreading its jihadi ideology and radicalizing and recruiting Pakistanis for terror activities in the name of so-called flood relief efforts, media reports said.
The floods in Pakistan have wreaked havoc where thousands of people have lost their lives including a massive loss to livestock and infrastructure. It has further caused a mass internal displacement of about 33 million Pakistanis.
Various countries have extended help to the flood-ravaged Pakistan and several leaders and delegations have also visited the country to take stock of the situation. However, finding opportunities to exploit the situation.
The catastrophe has given an opportunity for jihadi groups to make a comeback across the country in the spirit of "helping" the affectees, reported South Asia Press.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the time of addressing the United Nations General Assembly termed the monsoon a "monster monsoon" which has claimed 1,136 lives and urged the international community to act against climate change.
"The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids - the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding," says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Lashkar e Taiba is now reemerged in areas including Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. The group has once again made a comeback. The revelation comes following an investigation by South Asia Press investigation.
As per the investigation by the media outlet, the group has changed its name and is now operational under the name Allah-u-Akbar-Tehreek. Under this name, the group is blatantly receiving funds in the name of flood relief efforts, reported South Asia Press.
The group is actively involved in rescue and relief work alongside the Pakistani military, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations who are also involved in the relief operations.
The South Asia Press team has gathered several photos, videos and eye-witness accounts gathered that exposes the actions of the terror outfit. It brings to light that many individuals with connections to terror activities are behind the resurgence of the terror outfit.
Individuals like Hafiz Talha Saeed, son of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed, who was recently convicted and jailed for vague terror financing charges but may likely be released given he has been arrested and released several times over the past decade, is behind the revival of the group.
Other prominent organizers include Hafiz Abdur Raouf, a close associate of Hafiz Saeed and Nadeem Awan, who is been affiliated with the group since it was called Lashkar e Taiba.
The investigations draw a connection between these individuals who were at the forefront of relief and rescue efforts and LeT. All the names that have been previously affiliated with Lashkar e Taiba, Jamat ud Dawa, and Falah e Insaniyat Foundation, and have repeatedly gone underground to reappear with new identities.
They are also once again able to raise funds publicly via Pakistani financial networks, and have access to their "reportedly" sealed and confiscated buildings, and disaster management equipment like boats, trucks, etc. (ANI)