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  ‘Pak involved with JuD, JeM’

‘Pak involved with JuD, JeM’

Published : May 19, 2016, 6:19 am IST
Updated : May 19, 2016, 6:19 am IST

A Pakistani minister has said that legal action against militant groups such as Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) was not possible as the “state itself is involved.”

Rana Sanaullah
 Rana Sanaullah

A Pakistani minister has said that legal action against militant groups such as Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) was not possible as the “state itself is involved.”

In an interview to BBC Urdu, Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah was asked why no action had been taken against pro-establishment and anti-Indian groups in the province, to which he responded saying, “By pro-establishment groups if you mean JuD and JeM, then let me tell you that they have been declared proscribed organisations and they can no longer carry out any activity in the province.” However, ruling out the possibility of legal action against the groups, the minister questioned, “How can you prosecute a group with whom the state itself has been involved with ”

Refuting allegations that raids and operations against extremist elements are not conducted in Punjab as they are in other provinces, the minister said more people were arrested and prosecuted in Punjab than any other province, adding that this was the reason why law and order situation in the province is better than the rest of the country,” he said.

When asked about South Punjab’s link to militancy, Mr Sanaullah said that the whole country was plagued with extremism. “The impression that South Punjab is the hub of militancy is not correct,” he said and added that the PPP government had given a freehand to militants in the region for “political gains”.

“After Gulshan-e-Iqbal park incident, we conducted more than 10,000 intelligence based operations in Punjab,“ the minister said, adding that more than 50,000 people were questioned during these operations.

Refusing to give a time-frame for the ongoing operation in the province, Mr Sanaullah said that the operation will continue until terrorist havens are eliminated and that may take a few years to complete.

Earlier, on Tuesday a fresh Red Corner Notice was issued for Masood Azhar, chief of the banned JeM outfit and his brother in connection with the attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in January. The warrants were issued after India’s National Investigation Agency had managed to secure ’open ended’ non-bailable warrants against Azhar and Abdul Rauf. Pakistani team found no evidence of JeM chief’s involvement in Pathankot assault.

Location: Pakistan, Islamabad