Pakistan releases Islamic militants

Musharraf ordered a crackdown on militants earlier this month

KARACHI, Pakistan -- The Pakistani government has ended a crackdown on militant Islamic groups that saw more than 200 religious activists arrested for openly working in the name of Jihad (holy war), police and government officials said Thursday.

Police sources said all activists had been released after a meeting between senior government officials, including Home Secretary Brig. Gen. Mukhtar Ahmed, and Islamic leaders, who agreed not to make their activities public.

More than a dozen Islamic militant groups are fighting India in Kashmir, working through offices located across Pakistan. Their open operations in the country were believed to be a diplomatic embarassment to Pakistan, analysts said.

A new anti-terrorism law announced by the government of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf last week requires Jihad groups to register and submit their funding sources for audit. Musharrah had vowed to take tough action against religious extremists.

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The law has also banned Jihad groups from collecting public funds in the name of Jihad and has also banned them from displaying their names on the front of their offices.

In two days of crackdowns, members of groups not following the law were arrested, raids were conducted on their offices and signs identifying the groups were removed from the buildings housing their offices.

Pakistan has been wracked by years of bitter fighting between militant Sunni and Shiite Muslims belonging to several organizations. Two of the more militant groups have been banned and warnings have been issued to other groups.

But this was the first such action initiated by the government against jihad outfits.

On August 14, Pakistan's army president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, announced the crackdown on militant Islamic groups, particularly those engaged in sectarian violence.

Detentions for defiance

A senior police official said the early morning raids netted more than 200 activists, at least 700 collection boxes, some weapons and a number of signboards promoting jihad.

"We gave them 24 hours to comply with the order issued by Sindh government and after the expiry of that time limit, detentions were made for defying the government ban," he said.

The army-led provincial government told Shiite and Sunni Muslim militants as well as so-called jihadi groups to stop public fund-raising, displaying weapons and advertising their call to jihad.

The order warned militant groups "any deviation from this order will be seriously viewed by the government and appropriate action shall be initiated against the offenders."

Police said the offices of Al-Badar Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad were sealed after the raids.

Bitter war

Police in Karachi detained more than 200 people

But some jihad groups, whose activists are waging a bitter insurgency against Indian soldiers in Indian-ruled Kashmir, have vowed to resist the crackdown.

"We won't accept the restrictions on collecting funds," Mohammed Hamza, of Al-Badr Mujahedeen, one of several guerrilla groups fighting in Indian-ruled Kashmir and headquartered in Pakistan.

Both India and Pakistan lay claim to Kashmir, which was divided between them after 1947 when British rule of the subcontinent ended.

Pakistan rules one-third of the disputed Himalayan region, and India accuses Pakistan of providing support to the militants battling in its two-thirds of the country.

But Pakistan denies the charge, saying it only provides moral and diplomatic support to the separatists.

Pakistani militants are also known to have operated in support of Muslim fighters in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and the Philippines.

Islamabad has also stepped up a drive against widespread illegal weapons and mounted a campaign against rising levels of crime.