MANSEHRA, Jan 13: More than 50 activists of the banned militant groups were arrested in a crackdown here on Sunday.

The district administration sealed the local offices of the Jaish-i-Mohammad, the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, the Lashkar-i-Taiba, the Tehrik Nifaz Shriat-i-Mohammadi and the Tehrik Jafria Pakistan, which were banned by President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Saturday.

Reliable sources told Dawn that the administration had sought help from the Frontier Constabulary to carry out the crackdown on the militant groups in the district.

Early on Sunday morning, two local police team raided the offices of the Jaish-i-Mohammad on Shinkiary Road and the Lashkar-i-Taiba at Butt Pull, but all the leaders and activists of both the groups had already fled to safe places after listening to the president’s address to nation on Saturday night.

The police sealed the offices of the both groups and asked the owners of the buildings not to allow the groups to re-open their offices.

The police removed the boxes the groups had placed at a large number of shops in different areas of the district to collect donations in the name of Jihad.

The sources said the administration had called in police reinforcements to maintain law and order and continue the crackdown.

A police official told Dawn that an operation against the activists of the banned outfits had been launched throughout the district in the wee hours of Sunday and that   over 50 activists of the banned groups had been arrested.

Mingora: Following the imposition of ban on the Tanzim Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Mohammadi (TNSM), a crackdown was launched against its workers across the Malakand division on Saturday night.

Dozens of TNSM leaders and activist were held from their residences, and the police continue to hunt for the arrest of others who succeeded to escape.

The raids started much before the speech of the president on the television.

Those arrested include: TNSM central general secretary Mohammad Nageen Haji, Tehrik’s central spokesman, Qari Mohammad Israel, Swat tehsil Nazim Khurshid Babu, finance secretary Abdul Karim, Sharingal Mohammad Islam, Maulana Abdul Haq, Mohammad Amin, Fazal Manna, Dir Upper information secretary Zahid Hussein, Gulab Jan, Wazir Zada, Saeedullah, Haji Rahim Said, Inayat Khan, Adul Ghafar (Kall tehsil Nazim), Maulana Abdul Haq, Amir of Swat chapter; Zarawar, Mohammad Ibrahim, Mian Syed, Berader Khan, Mian Shah Room, Mohammad Aziz Khan, Mohammad Mian, Mohammad Irshad, Mian Mohammad, Mohammad Zamin, Hishtamand, Mohammad Rahim, Sher Mohammad, Bashir, Osama, Mian Said Bahar, Kand Khan, Ubaidullah, Naser Mohammad, Mazoob, Zafar Ali, Bakht Zareen, Azizur Rehman, Bashir Ahmad, Zaboor Khan, Maulvi Mohammed Rawan, Haji Nazar, Mohammed Faqir, Habibur Rehman, Ikram, Mohammad Yar, Mian Said Bughdad, Haji Mohammad Amin, Samrullah Jan, Said Rehman, Khurshid, Maulvi Samiullah, Bakht Zamin, Nadir Shah, Abdul Sattar, Mohammad Zahid, Shah Rawan, Talimand, Ghulam Sardar, Gul Mohammad, Abdul Haleem, Gran Badshah, Fazal Maabood, Amanullah, Zahir Shah, Sultanat, Rehmat Ali, Said Rehman, Bahr Rawan, Maulvi Abdullah, Kaptan, Zarmash, Fazal Karim, Mohammad Rahim, Jamshid, Hazrat Ali, Syed Bashar, Farooq Shah, Jan Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Sherin, Ruhul Amin, Fazal Karim, Zahir Shah, Suleman, Shah Naseem, Qari Mohammad, Abdul Sattar. The Amir of TNSM, Maulana Sufi Muhammad, has already been imprisoned in the district jail Dera Ismail Khan. Sufi, along with his armed colleagues, had been arrested some weeks back in the Kurram agency while entering the country from Afghanistan soon after the fall of the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

The workers of Jaish-i-Mohammad, including Abdullah and Ihsanullah, were also arrested. All the offices of the Jaish were sealed and raids for the arrest of its workers continued across the district.

In Shangla district, Maulana Nisar, Maulvi Gul Rahim of Lelaunai and Maulvi Abdur Rauf of Shahpur were also arrested from their residences.

PESHAWAR: The district administration sealed the local offices of Jaish-i-Mohammad, Lashker-i-Taiba, Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Tehrik-i-Jaferia Pakistan (TJP) in Peshawar on Sunday.