Pakistan has detained two close relatives of the leader of militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Masood Azhar, as part of a new crackdown against militant groups, the interior ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. JeM last month carried out a suicide bombing in the disputed Kashmir region that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police, leading to a stand off between India and Pakistan. "The interior minister just announced that 44 people linked to several militant groups have been taken into preventive custody. They include two close relatives of Masood Azhar, Mufti Abdur Rauf and Hammad Azhar," said the spokesman, who did not wish to be identified by name. Meanwhile, Pakistan has also made it easier to seize and freeze the assets of people and groups facing UN sanctions, the foreign ministry said, part of intensified efforts to dismantle militant groups. Pakistan is under increasing pressure from global powers to act against militant groups carrying out attacks in India, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in a suicide bombing last month in the disputed Kashmir region. From time to time — usually as a result of outside pressure — Pakistan has cracked down on anti-India militants but most factions manage to survive and resume activities. Pakistan's foreign ministry late on Monday said a new order, updating existing laws that deal with those on UN sanctions lists, had been issued "to streamline the procedure for implementation of Security Council sanctions against designated individuals and entities". Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said the order was passed by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Many Pakistani groups and individuals are sanctioned by the United Nations, including the JeM, and Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group that carried out the 2008 attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed. Saeed, who holds public gatherings in Pakistan, has been at the heart of criticism that Pakistan does not enforce its anti-militancy laws. On Monday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Pakistan had developed a "full-fledged strategy" to deal with militants and the government was looking to close "loopholes" that allowed banned groups to operate. "With banned groups it will be made sure that they will be banned in practical terms also," he said. A senior counterterrorism official said the government was looking to set up a coordination "cell" to oversee action against militants. "This cell will coordinate with finance ministry, counterterrorism departments, state bank, and financial monitoring units to see what actions have been taken against the militant groups, their assets and their sources of income," he said. The ministry had no immediate comment. Over the weekend, both the United States and Britain urged Pakistan to deal with militant groups. Britain urged Khan to "address the causes of this conflict" with its neighbor. Pakistan and India have gone to war three times, twice over the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both rule in part. India controls most of the region, including the populous Kashmir Valley. — Reuters
