Lashkar parent unit Jamaat-ud-Dawa splits

Jamaat-al-Daawa, the parent outfit of the banned Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba [ Images ], has split with two senior rebel leaders opposing the leadership of its founder Hafeez Mohammed Saeed.

Some rebels have formed a new outfit called Khair-un-Nasv (Peoples' Welfare), Urdu daily Khabren reported.

Two important office bearers of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Abu Shoib and Maulana Qari Abdul Hafeez, left the outfit with their supporters after negotiations with their hardline leader Saeed failed.

The outfit has not reacted to the reports.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a close-knit organisation, was formed weeks after its previous version, Markazud-Daawa, faced a crackdown soon after the 9/11 attacks in the US and the attack on Parliament in 2001.

All the properties of the Markaz were transferred to the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its founder leader Saeed.