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Masood Azhar continues to evade arrest

November 17, 2003 15:34 IST

As police launched a manhunt for militant outfit Khudam-ul-Islam's chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, after the Pakistani government banned his outfit along with two others, authorities sealed off 60 offices and seminaries of the three groups and directed banks to seal their accounts.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat told local TV networks that Azhar, who formed KI after last year's ban on his outfit, Jaish-e-Muhammad, is yet to be traced.

JeM was responsible for the daring attack on the Indian Parliament in December, 2001.

Though Pakistan police have sealed over 60 offices of the KI, the Islami Tehrik Pakistan and the Millat-e-Islamiya of Pakistan, they have not arrested any members of these groups.

District Police Officer of Bahawalpur, Azhar's hometown, Sikandar Hayat, said that police raids on his house have proved fruitless.

"He does not seem to be at his native town," he said adding that nine offices and seminaries of the three groups have so far been closed in his division.

Meanwhile, Azhar's family has accused the police of ill-treating them. Azhar's brother, Mufti Abdur Raof, alleged that the police violated law and exceeded all limits during the raids. "They (the police) violated the sanctity of our homes and mistreated our family members."            

Feigning ignorance about Azhar's whereabouts, Raof said: "He is travelling somewhere either in Punjab or Sindh. I don't know exactly."

Criticising the government's decision to ban the organisation, he said the council of the banned group will meet soon to decide its future strategy.

 


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