Lashkar vows to continue holy war

Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba yesterday condemned its banning by President Pervez Musharraf and vowed to continue their jihad (holy war) in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"We are shocked at this decision by the Government of Pakistan. We have never been involved in kind of terrorism and we are not based in Pakistan and our struggle is against Indian repression in Kashmir," said Lashkar spokesman Yahya Mujahid.

Speaking by telephone, Mujahid said Indians were involved in terrorism. "We only fight to stop their oppression. We have several times made it clear that we do not believe in targeting civilians."

"The action of the government of Pakistan is without any evidence against us and at the behest of those responsible for killing more than 80,000 innocent Kashmiris."

He said such "a bizarre act" would not deter Lashkar- e-Tayyaba from continuing its struggle for a "just cause".

Sectarian outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, also banned by the president, said the policy of the government would only increase violence instead of establishing peace and harmony in the country.

"We condemn the government action in strongest possible terms," SSP spokesman Mohammed Arshad said, speaking from the base of the group at Jhang in Punjab province.

SSP leader Maulana Azam Tariq is already in detention, along with Lashkar leader Hafiz Mohammed Saeed and Maulana Azhar Masood, head of militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, also outlawed by Musharraf.

Lashkar and Jaish have been blamed by India for the December 13 attack on the parliament in New Delhi, which led to the current war like confrontation between the armies of the two countries.

In his address to the nation, Musharraf also banned the sectarian group, Tehrik-e-Jafria Pakistan, as well as Tehreek Nifaz Shariah-e-Mohammedi (TNSM), a fundamentalist religious organisation in North West Frontier Province that had sponsored a stream of pro-Taliban volunteers into Afghanistan after the United States-led coalition launched military operations in October.

The president placed Sunni Tehrik, another fundamentalist religious group, under watch.

Interior Ministry sources said Pakistani police had been put on alert across the country to ward off any backlash, interior ministry sources said.

Police sources said around 350 activists belonging to the banned groups had been rounded up throughout the country since late Friday in a crackdown that they said would continue in the days to come.