Operation against LeT to continue: Pak Army

The operation by Pakistani security forces against banned militant groups, including the Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), will continue till the "desired results" are achieved and more arrests are expected to be made, officials said.

LeT operational commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi, accused of masterminding the Mumbai terror attacks, is among more than 20 activists of the Lashker and its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawah who have been arrested since the crackdown began on Sunday, sources said.

Maj Gen Athar Abbas, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations, said there is "no timeframe for the operation and it will continue across the country till the desired results were achieved".

Abbas told the Dawn newspaper that the operation is underway in Muzaffarbad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and some other parts of the country. Though he did not identify the areas where the crackdown would be launched.

The LeT has a sprawling headquarter complex in Muridke, just outside Lahore.

He said that "some arrests have been made, including a top man of Lashker".

The Dawn quoted officials as saying that they expected more arrests in the coming days. The newspaper also quoted an unnamed senior security official as confirming that Lakhwi was among two dozen people who had been arrested.

The Pakistan Army yesterday confirmed that a crackdown had been launched against banned militant groups and said an unspecified number of arrests had been made by law enforcement agencies in an "intelligence-led operation".