Pak. Govt. in a fix over banning of sectarian groups

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 5. The military Government in Pakistan is on the horns of a dilemma on a strategy to deal with the menace of sectarian violence and the groups considered to be behind them.

An inter-provincial conference on law and order on Saturday chaired by Gen. Pervez Musharraf is believed to have decided to use para-military forces along with police against the groups.

At least on two occasions last week, Gen. Musharraf expressed his anguish over the failure of the intelligence agencies and the law and order enforcement authorities to check incidents of sectarian violence and bring to book those responsible for some of the recent high-profile.

At a conference in Islamabad on the menace of small arms Gen. Musharraf had gone to the extent of saying that if only he knew the killers of some senior Government officers, he would personally go after them.

Media reports have said that the Musharraf Government however has second thoughts over the proposal to identify various groups behind the sectarian violence and consider ban on militant sectarian groups.

The meeting, attended by the four provincial Governors, gave the green signal to the law enforcement agencies to launch an all-out offensive against terrorists and terrorist groups. The conference also discussed and approved draft amendments to the Anti- terrorism Act 1997 which will now be promulgated as an Ordinance.

The amendments seek to facilitate apprehension and prosecution of terrorists and prevent acts of terrorism, particularly sectarian and ethnic terrorism. Addressing the conference, the President declared that there should be no inhibition against use of every available force and all available resources to combat the menace.

He directed the provinces to make use of the police force, the rangers and other para-military troops to track down the terrorist groups and bring them to justice. ``We owe it to this nation and we shall give them peace and security,'' the President said.

He asked the law enforcement agencies to be firm and act without fear or favour. Emphasising the need for close coordination between the federal and provincial agencies concerned, Gen. Musharraf told the meeting that there was a need to sharpen intelligence gathering, streamline the prosecution process and speed up the judicial process.

He assured all available help to the judiciary and to the law enforcement agencies. Responding to observations regarding the large number of cases awaiting adjudication, the President asked the Ministry of Interior and the Provincial Home Departments to monitor progress of all such cases and particularly the major ones involving terrorism.

There should be a monthly review of all such cases with the law enforcement officers and the law officers both at the provincial and the federal levels, he said. On the issue of de- weaponisation, he asked the provincial governments to adopt an intrusive and proactive campaign for recovery of unlicensed and unauthorised arms.

The unchecked proliferation of weapons in the country, Gen. Musharraf told the conference, had contributed largely to the present state of affairs and only a concerted campaign would result in the desired recovery of unlicensed weapons.

The conference was also attended by the Federal Ministers for Interior and Law, Attorney General of Pakistan, Inspectors General of Police, Provincial Home Secretaries and other senior officials.

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