Crackdown ordered on resurfacing defunct groups

* Intelligence reports say militants targeting MNC officials to stop foreign investment

By Shahzad Malik

ISLAMABAD: The government has asked law enforcement agencies to start operating against banned religious organisations, which have reportedly resurfaced and are working to undermine Pakistan’s economic development.

Sources told Daily Times on Sunday that intelligence agencies had told the government that elements belonging to such outfits might target senior officials working for multinational companies to stop the inflow of foreign investment in the country.

They said the agencies had reported that banned militant and religious organisations including the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Sipah-e-Muhammad, Therik-e-Nifaze-Fiqa Jafria and Hazbut Tahrir had reportedly resurfaced at the district and tehsil levels and elements belonging to the outfits had started working in their own capacity.

Sources said the reports also stated that active elements of the outfits had started printing hate material in their respective areas to brainwash the public against government efforts against the war on terrorism and to malign the country as well.

In light of the reports, the government asked the home secretaries of the four provinces, provincial police officers and chief commissioner of the Federal Capital Territory to intensify the campaign against elements of banned militant organisations and raid locations to arrest the defunct organisations’ central, provincial, divisional and district leaders and office bearers, sources added.

The government also asked authorities concerned to continue the current campaign against defunct organisations and arrest activists against whom evidence was available and their arrests were sustainable, sources said, adding that provincial police officers were asked to release all unimportant and irrelevant people arrested during the campaign.

The provinces were asked to ban the publications of defunct outfits and form police teams to visit areas where such publications were sold and to confiscate them immediately, sources added.

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