Pakistan-based terror group Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) has said that it will serve a legal notice to Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan for "defaming" it.
The development comes days after the government banned the Hafiz Saeed-led terror outfit from collecting donations following US President Donald Trump's outburst against Islamabad's sheltering of terrorists.
Taking exception to Khurram Dastgir's statement that action against the JuD was not taken due to mounting pressure from the US, JuD spokesperson Yahya Mujahid said Dastgir is "speaking the language of US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi".
He also criticised the minister for saying that the action was taken against JuD, FIF and other organisations so that "terrorists cannot open fire on schoolchildren anymore".
"This is outrageous," Mujahid said adding "we are serving legal notice to the minister for his outrageous remarks".
Pakistan banned Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led JuD and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) from collecting donations on Monday, after Trump accused Islamabad of giving nothing to the US except "lies and deceit" and providing "safe haven" to terrorists.
In a statement, the JuD spokesperson said, "World knows who is behind the steps against JuD and FIF. Our rulers are reluctant to mention the involvement of India in terrorist activities in Pakistan. Efforts are being made to please external lords by propagating against those forces that have actively played role in Pakistan's defence."
"Those trying to malign Pakistan's national security institutions through conspiracies such as Dawn Leaks have finally met their fate (a reference to ousted premier Nawaz Sharif) but still they seem to have learnt no lesson. Now, when America is openly threatening us and inciting India to take action against Pakistan, Pakistani rulers are engaged in the sycophancy of India and America," Mujahid said.
On Thursday, Dastgir had said Pakistan acted against JuD and FIF not under "pressure" from the US but after "serious deliberations", as part of the military's operation to disarm and eliminate hidden terrorist sleeper cells across the country with support of local law enforcement agencies.
The government has banned companies and individuals from making donations to the JuD, the FIF and other organisations on the UN Security Council sanctions list.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) issued a notification prohibiting the collection of donations by the JuD, the front organisation of banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, as well as several other such organisations named in a list of banned outfits by the UN Security Council.
