Lahore: The leader of a Pakistani Islamist organisation that was labelled a terror group and slapped with economic sanctions by the United States denied having any links to militancy on Thursday and vowed to hold protests.
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who is chief of Jamat-ud-Dawa (Organisation for Preaching), insisted his group was a charity and not a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant outfit which carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
"Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) has no link whatsoever with Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is a resistance wing in Kashmir," he told a press conference in the eastern city of Lahore.
JuD is listed as an alias of LeT by the United Nations, which has also labelled Saeed an abettor of Al Qaeda and brought sanctions on him, though he has never been convicted of a crime inside Pakistan.
The US State Department announced the amendments to its Foreign Terrorist Organization list on Tuesday, where it also listed three further groups as fronts for LeT and brought sanctions against two more LeT operatives.
Saeed, 64, produced both men in front of the media and vowed to protest the decisions against them.
"Americans don't have any independent thought... they are stupid. They have been unleashing a negative propaganda campaign against us at the behest of India," he added.
"An action by any state individually does not have any bearing or obligations on Pakistan," she said.
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who is chief of Jamat-ud-Dawa (Organisation for Preaching), insisted his group was a charity and not a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant outfit which carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
"Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) has no link whatsoever with Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is a resistance wing in Kashmir," he told a press conference in the eastern city of Lahore.
JuD is listed as an alias of LeT by the United Nations, which has also labelled Saeed an abettor of Al Qaeda and brought sanctions on him, though he has never been convicted of a crime inside Pakistan.
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The US State Department announced the amendments to its Foreign Terrorist Organization list on Tuesday, where it also listed three further groups as fronts for LeT and brought sanctions against two more LeT operatives.
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Saeed, 64, produced both men in front of the media and vowed to protest the decisions against them.
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"Americans don't have any independent thought... they are stupid. They have been unleashing a negative propaganda campaign against us at the behest of India," he added.
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"An action by any state individually does not have any bearing or obligations on Pakistan," she said.
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