'71 members of banned groups detained; 124 under surveillance'

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Jan 15 (PTI) Pakistan Thursday said it had detained 71 members of outlawed militant groups and put under surveillance 124 others, besides shutting down five "training camps" of JuD and banning its websites in the wake of the Mumbai attacks blamed on elements based in this country.

Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said a special
investigation team headed by an Additional Director General of
the Federal Investigation Agency is being set up to examine
"without any prejudice" all aspects of the Mumbai attacks and
the information provided by India. The team will include two
other officers with counter-terrorism experience.

Giving details of Pakistan's investigation in the wake of
the Mumbai incident, Malik said 71 members of banned militant
groups had been detained so far.

Among them are leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and
Lashker-e-Toiba, including Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, the founder
of both groups, Mufti Abdur Rehman, Col (retd) Nazir Ahmed,
Ameer Hamza and LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

Significantly, Malik did not say whether any legal
proceedings had been initiated against the detained persons.

Authorities had shut down eight relief camps and five
training camps run by JuD in Punjab province and PoK. Though
no evidence was found in these facilities, there were "traces"
that 5 of them were being used as "training camps", he said.

Six publications of JuD, including the weekly 'Ghazwa',
and the group's websites too had been banned, he said.

Malik said that 124 members of banned groups had also
been placed under surveillance for the past six months under
the provisions of anti-terror laws.
Asked whether the information given by India on the Mumbai
attacks constituted evidence, he replied: "We are accepting
that information, and we have formed an investigation team
with a view to reach the culprits."

The perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks cannot be nabbed
without evidence developed from "basic leads" and Pakistani
investigators should thus be given access by India, Malik
said.

"This is the time that Pakistan and India need to stick
together," he said. "We'll be needing more information."

Asked when a Pakistani team would be sent to India, he
said this would be done whenever the "Indian Interior Minister
is ready to accept" such a delegation. "And I will be ready to
accept their people at any time," he added.

Pakistan is "fully convinced...that it is our duty as a
responsible nation to get to these militant groups so that
such an incident does not happen in future anywhere in the
world," Malik said.

"Pakistan is suffering at hands of militants. If they
have done the same in India, it's worrying for us. That's why
we are doing the inquiry and (will) bring them to justice."

Pakistan had also taken action against the JuD because of
the listing of the group as a terrorist organisation by the UN
Security Council, irrespective of whether there is evidence
against it, Malik said.

The country's investigation will ascertain "how far and
at what level" the JuD is involved in terrorist activities, he
said.

"We share the agony of India, this was the time to show
solidarity with them. There is no doubt about it that this
incident had happened where Pakistani non-state actors were
blamed. It was our duty to extend full cooperation to the
Indian community and the international community," Malik said.

However, he evaded questions on whether Pakistan will
seek consular access to Ajmal Amir Iman Kasab, the lone
terrorist arrested during the Mumbai attacks, and whether any
evidence had been found linking the JuD to the terrorist
incident in India's financial hub. PTI RHL