PESHAWAR, Jan 28: Pakistan Afghan Defence Council (PADC) plans to organize a grand convention of religio-political groups and seminary students in Lahore on Feb 3 to mobilize support against the government for banning extremist groups and the expected action against Madaris.

The convention will also work on an action plan to stop the alleged US expansionism in the region, the next general election, and other issues. The council, a configuration of radical Islamic groups, held a Pakistan defence conference at Shahi Bagh, Peshawar, on Sunday.

It was the first major public meeting held by the PADC in the provincial capital after the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Despite extensive campaign, public participation was not encouraging.

The PADC chairman Maulana Samiul Haq, Jamaat-i-Islami acting Amir Syed Munawar Hassan, JUI leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, Prof Mohammad Ibrahim, PML (N) leader Abdu Subhan Khan and a leader of a banned group addressed the meeting.

The conference issued a joint declaration condemning the US-led international coalition’s attacks on Afghanistan and called upon the United Nations and other organizations to take note of the US atrocities in Afghanistan.

The declaration termed the treatment of the Taliban and Al Qaeda prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and asked the world human rights bodies to monitor the conditions in the detention camp. The meeting also demanded of the Afghan interim council to release Pakistanis detained by the Northern Alliance.

The council criticized the government’s policies towards religious groups and Madaris and announced that religious parties would launch a country-wide movement in this regard.