Crackdown: LeJ, SSP leaders detained
LeJ leader Ghulam Rasool in Bahawalnagar and ASWJ's Maavia Azam in Jhang shifted to jail for 30 days under MPO.
Ghulam Rasool is being detained for 30 days, which the government can extend. PHOTO: FILE
BAHAWALNAGAR:
The government has launched a crackdown against militants across the country, particularly in Punjab, where The Express Tribune has learnt that at least two men, belonging to the banned groups Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) have been detained.
The move came in wake of attacks on Hazara shia in Balochistan for which the LeJ had claimed responsibility. The Supreme Court also took suo moto notice of the incident and asked the federal government to act against those responsible.
LeJ activist detained
Senior Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) member Ghulam Rasool was detained on Wednesday under the maintenance of public order (MPO) and shifted to the Bahawalnagar jail.
The order had been issued by the Punjab home department and was confirmed by District Police Officer Abdul Hameed Khosa in Bahawalnagar.
Rasool, like LeJ chief Malik Ishaq, is currently out on bail.
SSP activist detained
Maavia Azam, the son of former SSP chief Moulana Azam Tariq, was detained in Jhang under the MPO.
Azam is allegedly a member of the ASWJ.
A spokesperson of ASWJ while talking to The Express Tribune confirmed the detentions of both Rasool and Azam.
He added that law enforcement agencies had conducted raids across the Punjab to arrest and detain ASWJ leaders and activists.
Later in a statement, the ASWJ chief Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi among other ASWJ office bearers condemned the detentions of innocent ASWJ activists under the pretense of of Quetta bombing.
Ludhianvi said that that ASWJ members have been arrested, while their seminaries have also been raided in Quetta. The ASWJ chief warned that unless their members were released, they would proceed to stage protest demonstrations and sit-ins.
LeJ background
The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is a banned terrorist organisation in Pakistan. It was formed in the mid-1990s, by a group of extremists, including Malik Ishaq.
LeJ has carried out a number of attacks on minority groups in Pakistan and its Balochistan faction has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks against the Hazara shia population in Quetta. It was banned by the government in 2001.
The government has launched a crackdown against militants across the country, particularly in Punjab, where The Express Tribune has learnt that at least two men, belonging to the banned groups Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) have been detained.
The move came in wake of attacks on Hazara shia in Balochistan for which the LeJ had claimed responsibility. The Supreme Court also took suo moto notice of the incident and asked the federal government to act against those responsible.
LeJ activist detained
Senior Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) member Ghulam Rasool was detained on Wednesday under the maintenance of public order (MPO) and shifted to the Bahawalnagar jail.
The order had been issued by the Punjab home department and was confirmed by District Police Officer Abdul Hameed Khosa in Bahawalnagar.
Rasool, like LeJ chief Malik Ishaq, is currently out on bail.
SSP activist detained
Maavia Azam, the son of former SSP chief Moulana Azam Tariq, was detained in Jhang under the MPO.
Azam is allegedly a member of the ASWJ.
A spokesperson of ASWJ while talking to The Express Tribune confirmed the detentions of both Rasool and Azam.
He added that law enforcement agencies had conducted raids across the Punjab to arrest and detain ASWJ leaders and activists.
Later in a statement, the ASWJ chief Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi among other ASWJ office bearers condemned the detentions of innocent ASWJ activists under the pretense of of Quetta bombing.
Ludhianvi said that that ASWJ members have been arrested, while their seminaries have also been raided in Quetta. The ASWJ chief warned that unless their members were released, they would proceed to stage protest demonstrations and sit-ins.
LeJ background
The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is a banned terrorist organisation in Pakistan. It was formed in the mid-1990s, by a group of extremists, including Malik Ishaq.
LeJ has carried out a number of attacks on minority groups in Pakistan and its Balochistan faction has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks against the Hazara shia population in Quetta. It was banned by the government in 2001.