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Maulana Masood Azhar, the leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed. |
From the Department of How You Know You’ve Struck A Nerve, via The Hindu:
Pakistani authorities have barred foreign journalists from visiting any seminary or other places in southern Punjab province after the Western media reported on the presence of the Taliban in that area.
“All foreign journalists are required to get permission from foreign affairs as well as from interior ministries for visiting any specific place especially in South Punjab,” a senior officer of the Punjab government told PTI.
He said in the past foreign journalists had visited different seminaries in the province and published or broadcast “twisted and unfounded” facts.
“We have no issue if they follow journalistic ethics and report correctly,” the official said.
Giving example of a UK based popular TV channel, Regional Police Officer of Bahawalpur division Mushtaq Sukhera, said that the TV crew requested for filming various seminaries in Bahawalpur including one of Jaish-e-Mohammad’s chief Maulana Azhar Masood.
“I was rather shocked to see that the TV channel showed that the seminary of Masood Azhar was used as a training camp of terrorists,” Mr. Sukhera said.
Yes, because we all know that Masood Azhar and his Jaish-e-Mohammed, which incidentally is banned by the Pakistani government, would never train terrorists, in a mosque no less.
Perhaps the Pakistani government will now stop retired lieutenant colonels from visiting Southern Punjab and voicing their opinions about the spread of radical madrassas in the Pakistani press as well? Or maybe it will bar the Pakistani press from noting that South Punjab has become a factory for jihad?
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3 Comments
This is adjacent to Indian state of Rajastan, likely used for drug transit to India. Many cross border tunnels were discovered, but nothing was ever proved 🙂
South Punjab is the likely hiding place for hard core Alqaeeda & its allies like LeT. The Paki military establishment is hiding these palces from American drones like they are doing with Haqani network. The good Taliban(LeT & other anti Indian Jihadi group) are running huge infrastructure of Madrassa, sucide & teerorist training camps there. These need to be taken out by American with brute force. ISI will never dismantle this infrastrture of terror for simple reason that there will be nothing for these hungry Generls to eat.
Never saw a article so full of sarcasm from you in the past, Bill … Pak govt is driving everyone nuts, it seems