Pak. vows tough measures against `jehadi' outfits

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, FEB. 12. Amid growing concern over the activities of certain religious parties and outfits, the Pakistan military Government has once again declared its determination to enforce tough measures against them.

The Interior Minister, Lt. Gen. (retd) Moinuddin Haider, announced in Karachi today that the measures would include ban on display of arms in public and restrictions on raising funds for `jehad' (holy war) by various religious groups.

Despite the Minister's assertion, there are serious doubts in various circles whether the Musharraf regime would actually come down on the `jehadi' organisations. Experience of the last 15 months suggests that the Government has not been able to go beyond declarations in its resolve against the `jehadi' outfits.

``No one will be allowed to display arms whether he belongs to a `jehadi' or religious group to force people to give donations for the purchase of weapons in the name of jehad'', the Interior Minister was quoted as saying in Karachi during the day.

The growing clout of the `jehadi outfits' and their adverse impact on society has been a matter of grave concern. The spurt in sectarian violence is directly linked to the growth of `jehadi' outfits. The military has been under pressure from the West, particularly the United States, to reign in these outfits.

The Minister said he had given directives to the police to stop or in case of non-compliance with orders, even shoot anyone displaying arms. Fervent pleas of the military Government to the `jehadi' groups and extremist religious outfits in the last few months to shed their `militant image' has not yielded any results.

In the second week of January, the Minister convened a meeting of representatives of 18 religious parties and organisations in a bid to enlist their cooperation to promote harmony among rival Muslim groups.

The Minister told them to stop displaying weapons, to respect the law, resolve their differences and work to promote harmony among rival Muslim groups.

``Have you thought what kind of concerns this situation is creating among the people? Similarly, what will the world think about it. Islam teaches us patience, kindness and understanding, but what is happening today. This is destroying our society, it will destroy our country,'' he said.

Ironically, the meeting failed to produce any result. Far from being defensive, some of the religious outfits went on the offensive and justified their actions, including open display of weapons.

Their contention was that such display was to send a clear message to Islam's enemies.

Sharif asked to return passports

PTI reports:

Saudi Arabia has asked the exiled Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, and his family to surrender their passports, media reports said here today.

``Saudi authorities have asked Sharif and all his family members to surrender their passports after they learnt that Sharif's nephew, Yousaf Abbas, returned to Pakistan without obtaining prior permission,'' the News Daily reported from Mr. Sharif's hometown Lahore.

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