ISLAMABAD, May 21: Interior secretary Tasneem Noorani on Wednesday said there was no ban on the movement of Hizbul Mujahideen leaders and activists but they could not carry out organizational activities in the country.

Talking to Dawn, he said the FIR had been registered against a guard of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Salahuddin for brandishing a prohibited weapon at a Rawalpindi Press Club function on Sunday.

The interior secretary said display of arms was banned in the country and nobody was above the law. “Anybody who breaks the law of the land will be dealt with accordingly, no matter which party he belongs to,” he said.

A couple of days back, Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat had told Dawn that the government had imposed a ban on the organizational activities of Hizbul Mujahideen, but there was no ban on the movement of its leaders and activists.

The interior secretary said the United Nations sent lists of various organizations to Pakistan every year, seeking ban on them. Pakistan, he pointed out, could not ban all such organizations. “We can only ban those organizations which are based in Pakistan.”

AFP adds from Lucknow: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said on Wednesday that Pakistan had banned Hizbul Mujahideen.

“There is news today that in Pakistan, Hizbul has been made illegal. I think this is correct news,” Mr Vajpayee told reporters.

In response to such reports, Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat said in Islamabad: “This is incorrect that we have banned Hizbul Mujahideen. It is not a Pakistani outfit and our policy is very clear and unambiguous,” he said.