Monday, 08 December , 2008, 23:50Last Updated: Tuesday, 09 December , 2008, 01:27
Islamabad/Washington: More than 24 hours after its security forces cracked down on the Laskhar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant group that India has blamed for the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan said late Monday that operations were on against "banned outfits and organisations" - and reiterated that it would not allow its soil to be used for terrorist activities.
"This is an intelligence-led operation against banned militant outfits and organisations. There have been arrests and investigations are on," a spokesman of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
No details were provided but reports from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, said LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi and 19 other fighters have been arrested.
Mumbai terrror attacks: Pak arrests LeT commander
Pakistani security forces also sealed a camp of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, as the LeT was renamed after it was proscribed, in the Shawai Nullah neighbourhood of Muzaffarabad, the reports said.
Indian and US intelligence officials say that the LeT was involved in the Mumbai attacks that claimed 172 lives and left nearly 250 injured.
Meanwhile, the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) that met here on Monday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, reiterated Pakistan's resolve not to allow its soil to be used for any kind of terrorist activity anywhere in the region and in the world, Online news agency reported.
Sources said the meeting was convened to review the overall security situation in the country after the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan-India tensions and others matters.
Cabinet ministers Sherry Rehman, Ahmed Mukhtar, Rehman Malik and Muhammad Ali Durrani, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman Gen Tariq Majeed, ISI head Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha were among those who attended the meeting.
LeT chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed reacted angrily to the raids against his organisation, saying the operation was being conducted "under Indian pressure" and was "unwarranted". Talking to Geo News, Saeed said that the targeting of Kashmiri organisations "without any proof" was an "expression of weakness".
As the US stepped up pressure, security forces on Sunday "launched a 'quiet' crackdown on activists belonging to the banned jihadi outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba in different parts of the country and Azad Jammu and Kashmir," Dawn newspaper said on Monday.
There are reports that similar action is being planned in some cities and towns of Punjab province.
"It is believed that the action taken by Pakistan against the Lashkar-e-Toiba will defuse to some extent the growing tension between the two neighbours," Dawn said.
Pak rejects India's demand to hand over Dawood
Muzaffarabad residents said they had seen army personnel taking control of the area along Shawai Nullah, some five km northwest of Muzaffarabad, where Jamaat-ud-Dawa possesses a large plot of land on which several buildings have been built.
"The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) of Hafiz Saeed occupied the same place before the organisation was proscribed," Dawn said.
"I saw an army helicopter hovering over the area and around 5 pm. I heard two or three loud explosions," a woman who lives in the area told the newspaper by the telephone.
Another person said: "The helicopter may have airlifted people detained or injured during the operation."
There were unconfirmed reports of an exchange of fire.
Mumbai terror attack special
In Washington, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated that "non-state actors" acting from Pakistan's territory were still its responsibility.
"I think there's no doubt that Pakistani territory was used by probably non-state actors," she said in interviews with US television networks on Sunday though she did not "think that there is compelling evidence of involvement of Pakistani officials."
Appearing on CNN, Rice said: "I do think that Pakistan has a responsibility to act, and it doesn't matter that they're non-state actors."
With Islamabad's ties with Washington as well as with India at stake, Pakistan must take action against the militants, Rice said. "The key here is that this investigation needs to go forward. It needs to be transparent," she added.
Asked to clarify her use of the he word "probably," Rice said: "I think that the evidence is that the terrorists did use territory in Pakistan."
Pakistan won’t send officials till proof provided
But she declined to say whether the terrorists trained in Pakistan or if they had any cooperation or if she believed that the LeT responsible for the Mumbai assault.
Asked about the relationship between LeT and the Pakistani government or its intelligence or military services, Rice said: "Well, there have been historic ties. There's no doubt about that."
In a separate report on Monday, headlined "Pak plan to mend fences with India", Dawn said: "Pakistan is sending an important message to the Indian leadership this week pertaining to the heightening of tension between the two nuclear neighbours."
"The message is expected to greatly help in easing the situation. Pakistan's high commissioner in India Shahid Malik, who is reaching here mid-week for the highest-level consultations, would carry the message to New Delhi," the newspaper added.
"This is an intelligence-led operation against banned militant outfits and organisations. There have been arrests and investigations are on," a spokesman of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
No details were provided but reports from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, said LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi and 19 other fighters have been arrested.
Mumbai terrror attacks: Pak arrests LeT commander
Pakistani security forces also sealed a camp of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, as the LeT was renamed after it was proscribed, in the Shawai Nullah neighbourhood of Muzaffarabad, the reports said.
Indian and US intelligence officials say that the LeT was involved in the Mumbai attacks that claimed 172 lives and left nearly 250 injured.
Meanwhile, the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) that met here on Monday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, reiterated Pakistan's resolve not to allow its soil to be used for any kind of terrorist activity anywhere in the region and in the world, Online news agency reported.
Sources said the meeting was convened to review the overall security situation in the country after the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan-India tensions and others matters.
Cabinet ministers Sherry Rehman, Ahmed Mukhtar, Rehman Malik and Muhammad Ali Durrani, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman Gen Tariq Majeed, ISI head Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha were among those who attended the meeting.
LeT chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed reacted angrily to the raids against his organisation, saying the operation was being conducted "under Indian pressure" and was "unwarranted". Talking to Geo News, Saeed said that the targeting of Kashmiri organisations "without any proof" was an "expression of weakness".
As the US stepped up pressure, security forces on Sunday "launched a 'quiet' crackdown on activists belonging to the banned jihadi outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba in different parts of the country and Azad Jammu and Kashmir," Dawn newspaper said on Monday.
There are reports that similar action is being planned in some cities and towns of Punjab province.
"It is believed that the action taken by Pakistan against the Lashkar-e-Toiba will defuse to some extent the growing tension between the two neighbours," Dawn said.
Pak rejects India's demand to hand over Dawood
Muzaffarabad residents said they had seen army personnel taking control of the area along Shawai Nullah, some five km northwest of Muzaffarabad, where Jamaat-ud-Dawa possesses a large plot of land on which several buildings have been built.
"The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) of Hafiz Saeed occupied the same place before the organisation was proscribed," Dawn said.
"I saw an army helicopter hovering over the area and around 5 pm. I heard two or three loud explosions," a woman who lives in the area told the newspaper by the telephone.
Another person said: "The helicopter may have airlifted people detained or injured during the operation."
There were unconfirmed reports of an exchange of fire.
Mumbai terror attack special
In Washington, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated that "non-state actors" acting from Pakistan's territory were still its responsibility.
"I think there's no doubt that Pakistani territory was used by probably non-state actors," she said in interviews with US television networks on Sunday though she did not "think that there is compelling evidence of involvement of Pakistani officials."
Appearing on CNN, Rice said: "I do think that Pakistan has a responsibility to act, and it doesn't matter that they're non-state actors."
With Islamabad's ties with Washington as well as with India at stake, Pakistan must take action against the militants, Rice said. "The key here is that this investigation needs to go forward. It needs to be transparent," she added.
Asked to clarify her use of the he word "probably," Rice said: "I think that the evidence is that the terrorists did use territory in Pakistan."
Pakistan won’t send officials till proof provided
But she declined to say whether the terrorists trained in Pakistan or if they had any cooperation or if she believed that the LeT responsible for the Mumbai assault.
Asked about the relationship between LeT and the Pakistani government or its intelligence or military services, Rice said: "Well, there have been historic ties. There's no doubt about that."
In a separate report on Monday, headlined "Pak plan to mend fences with India", Dawn said: "Pakistan is sending an important message to the Indian leadership this week pertaining to the heightening of tension between the two nuclear neighbours."
"The message is expected to greatly help in easing the situation. Pakistan's high commissioner in India Shahid Malik, who is reaching here mid-week for the highest-level consultations, would carry the message to New Delhi," the newspaper added.
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