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Pak imposes curbs on Hizb

Islamabad, May 20
Assuring that it would not allow militant outfits to use its soil for posing a security threat to its neighbours, Pakistan today imposed restrictions on Hizb-ul-Mujahideen by preventing it from regrouping as a militant force, a move seen as a step to create a conducive atmosphere for the resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue. Announcing the restrictions, Interior Minister Faisel Saleh Hayat said, “It will not allowed to regroup as a militant force. The use of militancy is totally out of the question. We will not allow that.”

Denying reports in the local media attributed to him that a ban had been imposed on Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, the largest militant outfit operating in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, “No, for the moment it is not a ban. There are certainly restrictions on their activities”.

He said Pakistan would not allow them to use its soil to propagate any damaging propaganda or physical activity which could endanger the life or pose a security threat to Pakistan or any of its neighbours.

The Dawn daily had quoted the minister as saying that although the outfit had been banned, no restriction had been imposed on the movement of its leaders outside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) but they could not conduct their organisational activities in the country.

Stating that the new move was a precautionary step, he said, “No, I will not zero in on that. It is purely in the interests of Pakistan itself....and we have taken all precautions to ensure that no such incident is allowed”. PTI