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K J M Varma in Islamabad
Faced with violent protests for rejecting the bodies of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen militants killed in Afghanistan, the Pakistan government was contemplating a crackdown on the pro-Taleban religious groups in the country.
President Pervez Musharraf's government directed that stern action should be taken against any militant outfit involved in violence in any part of Pakistan, media reports said on Thursday.
The presidential secretariat had sent a letter to the Interior Division directing it to "take stern action against those organisations found involved in violence, brandishing of weapons and creating fear amongst masses", The News daily said.
The Interior Ministry in Islamabad had also identified 10 militant outfits, which were active in Kashmir, the paper quoting presidential secretariat sources said.
The 10 outfits were Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, Tehreek-e-Jihad, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami, National Liberation Army of JKLF and Al-Badr Mujahideen, it said.
Of the 10 organisations, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammed had turned out to be a major embarrassment for Islamabad after the US administration banned them for their alleged links with Osama bin Laden and his terrorist outfit Al Qaeda.
The embarrassment turned acute on Wednesday when bodies of eight Harkat militants, who were killed in the US bombing, were brought back for funeral in Pakistan.
Border guards had earlier refused to permit the bodies to be brought into Pakistan at the Thorakham border area.
The bodies were later brought through Mohammed tribal agency to avoid embarrassment to the government.
While skirting a direct answer about the involvement of Harkat fighters in Afghanistan, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman on Wednesday asked the Taleban not to permit Pakistanis to fight alongside it.
The government reportedly also planned a crackdown on the sectarian groups as they were found taking part in the anti-US demonstrations to protest the American military action in Afghanistan.
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