December 5, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 10, 1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, Dec 4: The ministry of interior has finalized a long list of activists of banned sectarian groups across the country who would be apprehended anytime soon to ensure peace and harmony in the four provinces.

A senior official of the ministry told Dawn here on Thursday that the list had been handed over to the provinces for taking action against the activists of the banned sectarian outfits.

“The provincial authorities have been directed to first seek assurances of good conduct from the religious activists and if they were unwilling to stop preaching hatred and spreading violence, then they must be arrested,” he said.

The official said the government wanted to give one more chance to the workers and activists of the banned groups to give up their activities in their own interest.

He said the provincial governments had also been directed to ensure that loudspeakers in mosques were not used for any purpose other than Azaan and Friday Khutba.

“Mosques will not be allowed to be used for making political speeches and creating religious disharmony,” the official said. He said the provinces had been asked to take a serious notice of violations by the sectarian elements.

Responding to a question, the official said it was difficult to effectively freeze the funds of the banned groups in the banks. “They may not be maintaining their accounts in their names. Still, we are trying to locate and freeze their assets,” he said.

Sources said that President Gen Pervez Musharraf had assured the US and European ambassadors on Wednesday that the government was taking “serious action” against religious extremists and that their activities were regularly being monitored.

The president said it was in Pakistan’s own interest to eliminate sectarianism by apprehending those who were instigating killing of rival leaders and individuals.

Some of the envoys reportedly asked questions about the acceptability of the president’s idea of “enlightened moderation” among the masses. They observed that it was perhaps difficult to completely eliminate religious extremism from Pakistani society, and that it might take considerable time before real moderation is ushered in in the country.

The president, the sources said, responded by saying that the government had made a sincere beginning to discourage sectarianism and that he would continue to ensure that Pakistani people lived in peace and harmony.

He regretted that the common man’s mind had been poisoned by religious extremists in the past. “But generally the western envoys appreciated the president’s straightforward approach in dealing with religious extremists,” one source said.