Pak. crackdown on militant outfits

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, SEPT. 8. In the first crackdown of its kind, the military Government in Pakistan has rounded up 50 activists of the militant outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and registered anti- terrorism cases against 600 others.

The Jaish was founded by Maulana Masood Azar, one of the three militants released by India in December 1999 in exchange of the freedom of the Indian Airlines passengers hijacked to Kandahar.

Maulana Masood Azar was a prominent member of Harkat before he fell out with the group and decided to go his own way. Thanks to his oratory skills and generous help from the establishment, the Jaish emerged as one of the formidable militant outfits in the last two years.

It is not clear yet if there is a larger design in the crackdown on the activists of the Jaish in Gujaranwala town in Punjab or whether it is a case of clash of interest with the local authorities.

However, what is interesting is that the Jaish is one of the few militant outfits that has faced charges of involvement in sectarian disturbances in Pakistan. It has been identified with Sipah-e-Sahaba of Pakistan (SSP), a Sunni extremist outfit, which has been recently warned by the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Its armed wing, the Lashkar-E-Jhangvi, has been banned by the Government last month along with its rival Shia militant outfit.

The confrontation on Thursday between the police and the Jaish-e- Muhammad activists began after the Islamic militant group insisted to hold a public meeting at Sheranwala Bagh in Gujaranwala. But the administration declined to give permission and asked the outfit to hold the meeting to be addressed by Maulana Masood Azar in a local mosque.

Later, scores of Jaish activists led by former president of the Punjab unit of SSP, Maulana Muhammad Nawaz Baloch, blocked the traffic and raised slogans against the Government, police and the administration. Maulana Asmatullah, another leader, delivered a provocative speech against the Government on the occasion.

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Section  : International
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