Intelligence

Pakistan to crack down further, expel foreigners from madrassas

TheStar.com - Pakistan to crack down further, expel foreigners from madrassas

RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN—Pakistan's president vowed yesterday to arrest leaders of banned extremist groups and force foreign students to leave Islamic schools, saying he is in a stronger position to target religious militants than during a 2002 crackdown.

"I'm in a totally different environment," said Gen. Pervez Musharraf, whose government has reported arresting nearly 600 suspected militants over the past 10 days and plans stricter oversight of religious schools where extremists are thought to be active.

Musharraf, who strongly condemned the recent terror bombings in Britain and Egypt, has been criticized by some Western officials for not being tough enough on domestic militants after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

But Musharraf told foreign journalists he did not have "a free hand" in 2002 because of an unstable economy, a confrontation with India over Kashmir and insufficient international support for his presidency.

"Maybe the boat would have capsized" if his government had pursued domestic militants more aggressively in 2002, he said. "We took action, but there were restraining factors."

Musharraf, who turned Pakistan into a key U.S. ally in the war on terror, outlined plans to detain extremist leaders and prevent the use of mosques for inciting militancy. He also said he would require foreigners, including those of dual nationality, to leave religious schools, which under immigration laws means they would have to leave Pakistan.

"We need to act against the bigwigs of all the extremist organizations," Musharraf said. "We are not going as fast as I would like to go."

Musharraf said Pakistan had broken Al Qaeda's command and communication links, "which means that they have ceased to exist as a homogenous, well-controlled, centralized force."

Intelligence reports showed Al Qaeda militants now gather only in small groups and communicate by courier messages that can take two months to reach their destination.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 30, 2005 at 02:00 PM in Al Qaeda | Permalink | Top of page | Blog Home