Hindus Rally for Muslim Charity

December 16, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7786495.stm

Hundreds of members of Pakistan's Hindu community have turned out to protest on behalf of a Muslim charity accused by India over the deadly Mumbai attacks.

The protesters in the city of Hyderabad in Sindh province complained that Jamaat-ud-Dawa was not a terrorist organisation and should not be banned.

They said it was a "saviour" in providing food and water.

India says Jamaat-ud-Dawa is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba which it blames for the attacks that killed more than 170.

Water wells

Many in Pakistan's minority Hindu community are poor farm workers.

One protester, Biga Ram, told Reuters news agency: "How can an organisation be terrorist if it's been providing food and water to us despite knowing that we're not Muslims?"

She added: "They're friends of humanity. We condemn the ban. It's unjust."