Pakistan cracks down on Lashker-e-Taiba: report
Pakistani authorities today reportedly launched a crackdown on activists of the Lashker-e-Taiba and its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawah and raided some offices of the two groups in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Pakistani authorities on Sunday reportedly launched a crackdown on activists of the Lashker-e-Taiba and its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawah and raided some offices of the two groups in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
According to reports, security agencies and officials of the PoK administration conducted swoops on several offices of the two groups in Muzaffarabad and its surrounding areas. Some members of the two groups were also detained, the reports said.
However, there was no immediate official word from the Pakistan government on the development.
Sources said the authorities targeted offices of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and LeT that were involved in "unwanted activities". The raids were carried out for "law and order reasons", the sources said.
LeT founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed set up the Jamaat-ud-Dawah shortly after the Pakistan government banned the Lashker in 2001.
The development came days after the Indian and American governments urged Pakistan to crack down on the LeT, which has been linked to the Mumbai terror attacks that killed over 180 people and injured dozens. The only terrorist captured by Indian security agencies following the Mumbai attacks has said he was recruited and trained by the LeT.
The US has stepped up pressure on the Pakistan government to act against Pakistan-based elements linked to the Mumbai attacks, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Senator John McCain reportedly telling Pakistani interlocutors that the administration needed to act urgently to address India's concerns about the terrorist strike.
President Asif Ali Zardari has extended Pakistan's assistance in probing the Mumbai incident and pledged to act against any Pakistani individual found to be connected to the attacks.