Raid on mosques in Karachi

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 23. Amid reports of raids on mosques in Karachi by police to apprehend members of two of the banned extremist sectarian outfits, the Pakistan military Government here is sending out signals that the crackdown is not aimed against the `jehadi' outfits operating in Kashmir.

The arrest of 300 or so workers of the banned outfits and the raids on 10 mosques in different parts of Karachi have evoked strong reaction from religious and militant outfits. They have accused the Musharraf Government of acting at the behest of the U.S. and dubbed its various actions of the last few days as ``anti-Islamic''. Notwithstanding the explanations from the military Government that the action was entirely that of the Sindh Provincial Government, the arrests and raids on the mosques to apprehend illegal weapons and operatives of the banned outfits are seen as a bold step.

The Sindh Government's actions followed after a series of announcements were made by the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to put down sectarian and ethnic violence with an iron hand and take stringent action against lawbreakers. At the same time, the military Government was careful to ensure that it did not end up incurring the wrath, particularly of various religious and militant outfits espousing the cause of `liberation of Kashmir'.

The Government's chief spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Rashid Quereshi, went out of his way to explain that all those arrested were members of the banned outfits. Senior officials here were also at pains to emphasise that the actions of the Sindh Government were not a follow-up to any directive from the Federal Government. They said there was no blanket ban on collection of `jehadi' funds. It was being enforced only to ensure that there was no forcible collection.

However, there is no doubt that the Sindh Government has stirred the proverbial hornets' nest by its action. This was evident from the violent reaction of leaders of some of the sectarian outfits. ``They are playing with fire. Some fools in the Government are trying to create anarchy. These are not offices of Tehreek-I- Jafria (TJP), these are prayer players'', the chief of one of the banned outfits was quoted as saying hours after the raids.

Efforts on the part of Islamabad to send out reassuring signals to the `jehadi' outfits was evident from a long report in the leading Urdu daily, Jang. Quoting Federal officials, it said the Musharraf regime had no intention of taking action against the outfits and the Sindh Government had been asked to stop police action against them. It said that in accordance with the directives, more than 250 of the arrested activists were to be released before the midnight of Wednesday. (Police have since then announced that most of them have been released). These activists were arrested during the four-hour long police operation on Wednesday morning in the offices and fund-raising stalls of various `jehadi' outfits.

The report said the outfits would be allowed to run their offices. According to fresh directives, police officials have been asked not to disclose the names of the outfits whose offices had been raided. Senior officials held separate meetings with the leaders of various outfits including the Jaish Muhammad, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Al Badar at Karachi and the headquarters of these outfits and informed them that the Government had no intention of imposing a ban on the activities of the `jehadi' outfits.

However, the Government would certainly like to regulate their activities in view of the open collection of funds and recruitment of militants. After hearing the Government stand through responsible officials, leaders of the outfits have promised not to protest against the Government action.

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Section  : International
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