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Muhammad Najeeb in Islamabad
Pakistan on Tuesday banned two sectarian terrorist outfits, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and the Sipah-e-Mohammed, belonging to the Sunni and Shia sects, respectively.
"We cannot further tolerate their anti-state and anti-people activities," President Pervez Musharraf announced while addressing the country's newly elected district administrators in Islamabad on Pakistan's 54th Independence Day.
The announcement came within hours of General Musharraf saying that "intolerance and an extremist attitude in certain quarters are the termites eating us from within".
The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is an offshoot of the Sunni outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan. The Sipah-e-Mohammed consists of hardcore elements of the Shia organisation, Tehrik Jafaria Pakistan.
"I warn the SSP and TJP that the government would closely observe their activities and if they are found involved in extremism, I would not hesitate in banning them as well," General Musharraf said.
The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Mohammed have been involved in killing each other's activists, reportedly with the support of some foreign countries. There are about 300 murder and terrorism cases pending in different courts against them.
Musharraf said the Anti-Terrorism Act had been amended to make the law foolproof to punish such terrorists. The Supreme Court had issued necessary directives to the lower courts for speedy disposal of terrorism-related cases, he added.
Indo-Asian News Service
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