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K J M Varma in Islamabad
Pakistan government has no plans to ban militant outfits, including those operating in Kashmir, Minister for Religious Affairs Mehmood Ahmad Ghazi said.
The minister also denied any pressure being exerted by the international community on Pakistan to ban jehadi outfits and restrict the activities of Islamic religious seminaries, considered to be breeding grounds for militants.
On the recent crackdown on militant outfits, Ghazi said the southern Sindh provincial government had banned only public display of arms and open collection of funds by militant groups in the name of jehad.
Recently, Pakistan's military regime also promulgated an ordinance to streamline the activities madarsas (religious seminaries).
Reports from Karachi over the past few days said that the police in a two-pronged crackdown raided the offices of several jehadi outfits and two extremist religious organisations.
On August 22, police raided the offices of militant groups, including Lashkhar-e-Tayiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkat-ul-Ansar, in Karachi and rounded up over 250 of their members.
PTI
ALSO SEE: Pak-based militant groups defy govt orders
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