Pak arrests 124 LeT men

5 JuD camps shut down

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Thursday that 124 people including top JuD leaders have been arrested in a crackdown on groups allegedly linked to the attacks in Mumbai.

However, Malik reiterated that Pakistan still needs more information from India to allow it to prosecute suspects in court.

Malik said that several top leaders including Hafiz Saeed, Mufti Abdur Rehman, Zakir-ul Rehman Lakhvi and Ammer Hamza are also part of those arrested. But he claimed Maulana Masood Azhar, one of India’s most wanted fugitive, of JeM was currently not residing in Pakistan.

Notably, Pakistan had earlier said that it had put Masood under house arrest.

Malik said that several top leaders including Hafiz Saeed, Mufti Abdur Rehman, Zakir-ul Rehman Lakhvi and Ammer Hamza are also part of those arrested. But he claimed Maulana Masood Azhar, one of India’s most wanted fugitive, of JeM was currently not residing in Pakistan.

Notably, Pakistan had earlier said that it had put Masood under house arrest.

He said that "mid-level and top leaders" of banned militant groups had been detained so far in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. These included 69 militant leaders held in Punjab province, 21 in Sindh, 25 in Balochistan and eight in North West Frontier Province.

Authorities had shut down five "training camps" run by the JuD in Punjab province and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. There were "traces" that five of the JuD camps were being used as "training camps", Malik told a press conference.

This is probably for the first time that Pakistan, which has for years denied existence of terror training camps on its soil, has admitted to their presence. He said the crackdown was in response to the UN accusation that a Pakistani charity was a front for an outlawed terrorist group allegedly linked to the attacks.

Significantly, Malik did not say whether any legal proceedings had been initiated against those detained. Six publications of JuD, including the weekly 'Ghazwa', and the group's websites too had been banned, he said.

Malik added that 124 members of banned groups had also been placed under surveillance for the past six months under the provisions of anti-terror laws. Malik further admitted that JuD has links with other militant organisation which are operation in other countries

Incidentally, JuD is the off shoot of LeT which was accused of several terrorist attacks in India. India has said that the November 26 attacks that killed over 180 people was plotted in Pakistan.

comments