ISLAMABAD/KARACHI, 5 August — The government yesterday inducted Rangers and paramilitary troops along with police against terrorists and terrorist groups in its drive to disarm groups and individuals while stepping up its countrywide crackdown on two major religious-sectarian groups. However, the decision to clamp ban on militant sectarian groups was deferred for the time being.
“We owe it to this nation and we shall give them peace and security at every cost,” President Pervez Musharraf told the Inter-Provincial Conference (IPC) on law and order, held here yesterday. Officially, it is said the green signal was given to the law enforcing agencies in the country for all-out offensive against terrorists and terrorist groups.
The all important conference was chaired by Musharraf, and participated by provincial governors, federal ministers for interior and law, attorney general of Pakistan, inspectors general police, the provincial home secretaries and other concerned senior officials. The IPC took up a host of issues related to law and order as in some parts of the country some terrorists or terrorist group had killed some innocent high-profile officials and politicians and it sent alarming signals to the center and provinces.
“The conference discussed and approved draft amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, which shall now be promulgated as an Ordinance,” said an official announcement. “The amendments seek to facilitate apprehension and prosecution of terrorists and prevent acts of terrorism particularly sectarian and ethnic terrorism.”
Musharraf declared there should be no inhibition against the use of every available force to combat terrorism in all its forms. A senior official said threadbare discussion took place on the issue of banning some sectarian groups allegedly involved in terrorism.
“But no decision to ban such groups has yet been taken, or when and which groups will be banned,” said the source. When asked, he said: “There is no question of banning any political or religio-political party, as the focus will only be on the militant outfits.” Musharraf emphasized the need for close coordination between all the concerned federal and provincial agencies and a need to sharpen the intelligence gathering process, streamlining the prosecution process, and speeding up the judicial process.
He assured all available help to the judiciary and to the law enforcement agencies. The president asked the Ministry of Interior and the provincial home departments to monitor progress of all such cases and particularly the major ones involving terrorism. “There should be a monthly review of all such cases with the law enforcement officers and the law offices both at the provincial and the federal levels,” said the president.
In a massive crackdown, security forces earlier raided the local headquarters and offices of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) in Karachi and Lahore whereas they launched an extensive manhunt to arrest Lashkar-e-Jhangvi activists in parts of southern Punjab. Officials, however, remained tight-lipped regarding details of the arrests and recovery of incriminating objects.
“The press will be told about the results of the ongoing operation,” said an insider in Karachi, asserting: “...The efforts would definitely bear positive results very soon.” In Karachi, a heavy contingent of police raided Masjid-e-Siddiq-e-Akbar that houses SSP’s headquarters in the city’s Central District. The SSP’s central leader in Karachi, Hafiz Abu Atiqur Rahman, has strongly condemned the government for carrying out the operation.
