NEW DELHI: A prominent 'hardline' religious organisation based in terror-scarred Varanasi has come under the scanner of security agencies for possible links with jehadis.The group, Ahle Hadis Jamaat al-Salahfiya, has been receiving funds from a Saudi charity which has also been generous to Markaz-ul Dawa al-Irshad, the parent body of terrorist group Laskhar-e-Taiba.
Markaz is headquartered in Muridke in Pakistan.
Saudi charities, thought to be the primary sources of terror funds, came under global watch after 9/11. US pressure forced authorities in Pakistan and elsewhere to clamp down on the likes of Al Rashid Trust, but suspicion persists that they have worked their way around global vigilance to aid fundamentalist groups in their agenda of jehad.Intelligence sources suspect them to be fund-raisers for some leaders of the Hurriyat Conference as well. Suspicions about Markaz's ability to avoid scrutiny from Pakistani authorities are heightened by the ease with which its chief, Hafeez Saeed, continues to operate despite being regularly placed under house arrest.