ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has detained dozens of alleged militants after a suicide attack in Indian-held Kashmir last month which sent tensions between the nuclear-armed foes soaring, its interior minister said yesterday.
Among those detained in Islamabad’s latest crackdown on banned groups was Abdul Rauf - who a security source told AFP is a younger brother of Masood Azhar - the leader of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) that claimed responsibility for the February 14 attack.
Rauf had been named in a dossier of evidence in that attack given to Pakistan by India, the interior ministry said. "We have launched a crackdown against proscribed organizations and have taken 44 individuals into custody, including Mufti Abdul Rauf and Hammad Azhar,” state minister for the interior Shehryar Afridi told reporters in Islamabad. — AFP