LAHORE, Aug 6: The Punjab government during its campaign against extremism and hate literature has booked around 1,000 religious and prayer leaders in the last two weeks, it is learnt on Sunday.

Record with the Punjab Central Police Office (CPO) says about half of the arrested men have been set free after being granted bails by courts. The remaining half have been sent to judicial lock-ups. Those who were arrested included prayer leaders, seminary administrators, and printers and publishers of publications allegedly responsible for fanning religious extremism.

Of the total arrested men, the record says, 425 have been booked in Lahore.

Punjab police sources say that some members of the banned religious outfits have also been rounded up during the campaign, whose arrests are kept secret. They have been shifted to special interrogation facilities, the sources say.

“We have been pursuing the campaign vigorously in the last two weeks,” Punjab police Additional IG Dr Azhar Hsan Nadeem told Dawn, adding that the force had been constantly in touch with the federal government and other law-enforcement agencies involved in the campaign.

“We have directed all the district police heads to arrest without any discrimination those involved in fanning sectarian or religious hatred. The arrested men on their release on bail were also being issued warnings of more strict action in case they were again found spreading any kind of religious extremism, he added.

Meanwhile, an official order issued by the Punjab IGP office has directed the DPOs to maintain a close liaison with nazims and notables in their respective jurisdictions to coordinate on the campaign. The officers have been asked to have meetings with nazims, who will further issue warnings to religious leaders and prayer leaders about misuse of loudspeaker and mosques.

“The places of worship should not be used for any anti-state activity,.” the order stressed.

The CPO record says the DPOs, through their field police officials, have carried out a detailed survey of the mosques and other places of worship in their areas. Details like name of the mosque and its prayer leader, the sect it represents and the number of students living temporarily and permanently, have been registered, the record says.

The additional IGP said the record had been collected for its registration with different law-enforcement agencies that would further keep a track of it.

He said all the printing and publishing houses in the province had been given in writing that they, too, would be equally responsible for publishing any book or material aimed at fanning hatred. The DPOs had been directed to visit such printing houses in their areas on a regular basis, he added. He said the police heads had also been directed to keep a vigil on those religious leaders, who were set free after registration of the cases against them. Such leaders should be told to furnish surety bonds after their release, the IGP said.