Islamabad, Nov 19: Pakistan is demanding cash
from almost 600 Islamic militants in a new attempt to prevent
banned extremist groups re-emerging under new names,
officials said today.
The bonds are an alternative approach to mass
arrests, which Pakistan used last year in an unsuccessful
crackdown on militant groups.
"They are being asked to give surety bonds of good
behaviour. If they violate them we will arrest them and their
surety will be forfeited," a senior police intelligence
official told a news agency on condition of anonymity.
Nearly 600 activists of militant groups outlawed on
Saturday have been ordered to pay security bonds of up to
100,000 rupees, he said.
"This strategy is different to previous attempts when
large-scale arrests were made because most of those people
were subsequently released by courts."
Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat said the
government had chosen to seek "guarantees" from the militants
instead of arresting them as "a new strategy."
"We are not going for the arrest of members of these
banned groups," he told a news agency.
"We are closing down their offices to deny them a
forum. We are seeking guarantees from them that they do not
indulge in such activities in the future.
"This is providing them an avenue to correct their
behaviour. If they disobey the government ban again they will
be punished."
Bureau Report
