Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had long rejected the use of paramilitary to counter Islamist groups because of the opposition among his party’s Islamist supporters. Photo: BloombergIslamabad/Peshawar/Karachi: Pakistan said on Wednesday it will send paramilitary forces to crack down on Islamic militants in the Punjab province, a move that the ruling party of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had long rejected because of opposition among its Islamist supporters. Pakistan has long seen such groups as allies against its arch-rival India in the conflict over the Kashmir region. The interior ministry said the paramilitary forces would be mobilized in Punjab for 60 days to assist local security forces in cracking down on extremist groups as well as their hard-line seminaries and recruiting networks. Rao Anwar, a police official in the southern city of Karachi, said eight Taliban-linked militants were killed in a raid.

Source: Mint February 22, 2017 15:33 UTC