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| India-Pakistan | |
| 'Banned' Pakistani groups 'expand' | |
| 2009-06-29 | |
| Militant groups banned in Pakistan are expanding operations and recruitment in Pakistani-run Kashmir, according to a government report seen by the BBC. A copy of the report, which was submitted by regional police to Pakistan-administered Kashmir's cabinet on 25 March, was obtained by the BBC in Islamabad. It finds that three banned groups - Harkatul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba - are active in Muzaffarabad. Harkatul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad are said to be planning to open madrassas, or Islamic schools, in the city where Lashkar-e-Taiba is already operating a madrassa. "No officials are allowed to enter these premises to gather any sort of information," the report says. "We fear these madrassas maybe a cover for furthering militant activities." The report also elaborates how the militant groups are growing in size and number across Kashmir. It especially mentions the Neelum district, where they are said to be at their most powerful. The report says the militants are involved in the logging of trees, one of the most lucrative trades in the region. They have also set up offices in the Kandal Shahi market in Neelum, where they have become a major law and order headache, the report says.
The report mentions an incident which led to the killing of some locals and a resulting stand-off with the militants. "The situation was only resolved by the intervention of the local administrator and senior army officials," the report says. It then goes on to say that the authorities should take up the matter with the intelligence agency responsible for the militants. The report says officials from that agency should relocate the militants to some area near the border, otherwise clashes with locals could take place. | |
| Posted by:john frum |