Jamaat-ud-Dawa's (JuD) two-day-long ijtema (congregation) in the Punjab capital has shown that the group's leader, Hafeez Saeed, a former faculty member of the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore, appeals to a cross-section of people, ranging from illiterate or semi-literate youths from villages to university graduates.
Inspired by "religious zeal and fervor," students from engineering and medical universities thronged in the lawns of Minar-i-Pakistan to hear Saeed address the concluding session and receive training for jihad, reported the Dawn.
Ilyas Salfi, a law graduate, said that jihad was not confined to an armed struggle but also meant extending help to those in need via lawful means. He added that the rescue and relief work carried out by the JuD during the 2005 earthquake (recognised by the UN), after the 2010 floods and later, and during the recent Thar crisis through its social welfare activities under the banner of Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation were examples of jihad.
Naeemur Rehman, an IT expert, termed the congregation an "academic training" through lectures and sermons and not military instruction. He added that a gathering of people, who shared an ideology, at one place inspired a new sense of determination among the activists.
The group was banned by India after an attack on the Indian parliament in 2002.
The group has also been outlawed by the U.S., EU and Russia. Washington has announced head money for Saeed and Abdur Rahman Makki, JuD's political wing chief and Saeed's brother-in-law.