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Crackdown continues
By B. Muralidhar Reddy
ISLAMABAD, JAN. 1. Continuing its crackdown against militant outfits and extremist religious organisations, the Pakistan Government is said to have detained more than 150 activists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad.However, senior functionaries of the Musharraf regime are at pains to emphasise that the crackdown has nothing to do with either pressure from the international community or India's demands.
The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Mr. Aziz Ahmed Khan, and the Press Secretary to the Pakistan President, Maj. Gen. Rashid Quereshi, today went out of their way to emphasise that the arrests had no connection with either the U.S. action or the Indian demand.
The authorities have picked a number of activists of the two militant outfits, particularly in the Sindh province. In Karachi alone, according to the city police chief, Mr. Tariq Jameel, 24 activists of the ``jehadi'' outfits have been arrested and their offices sealed. When police raided these offices, they were locked and no activist was present there. Local media reports said that senior officials were interrogating the Lashkar Chief, Hafiz Saeed.
Reports from Ghotki town said that police raided the local Jaish office and arrested four persons for playing the cassette of Masood Azhar's speeches. Police appear to be continued raiding offices of these two outfits overnight in different parts of the country.
On Sunday, police raided the offices of the Jaish, the Lashkar and the Sipah-e-Sahaba in Hyderabad and arrested more than 10 activists.
Telephone connections of offices of ``jehadi'' outfits have been cut.
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