NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Pakistani authorities have arrested more than 100 activists of two religious groups President Pervez Musharraf outlawed two days ago, Online news agency reported on Thursday.
Police sources said they were now looking for '14 hardened terrorists' of Sipah-e-Muhammad, a Shia group, and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni group.
Musharraf declared on Pakistan's Independence Day on Tuesday that both groups were threatening the country's security. He also threatened to ban the Sunni Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and the Shia group, Tehrik Jafaria Pakistan.
The TJP, however, hit out at Musharraf, saying the ban on Sipah-e-Muhammad was an insult to the Shia community.
In Rawalpindi, TJP leader Syed Muhammad Sibtain Kazmi warned that the ban would lead to a further deterioration in the situation.
"Banning the Sipah-e-Muhammad poses an insult to the whole Shia community," he said.
The Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan has meanwhile called for a protest rally on Sunday in Islamabad to protest against the government's 'anti-Islam policies'.
It said that banning of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Muhammad was no solution to growing sectarianism in Pakistan.
Indo-Asian News Service
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
