Musharraf targets hate preachers as arrests mount

After a blitz of detentions of suspected militants and Islamists, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf called for a holy war against preachers of hate and announced steps to curb militant Islamic schools and groups.

Mr Musharraf spoke yesterday in a televised address to the nation, which was awaited with keen anticipation both at home and in Britain after revelations of Pakistani links to the July 7 bomb attacks on London that killed at least 56 people. "I urge you, my nation, to stand up and wage a jihad (holy war) against extremism and to stand up against those who spread hatred and chaos in the society," Mr Musharraf said.

But he had a message for Britain too, saying it had plenty to address on the homefront in the war against terrorism without getting into a blame game with Pakistan.

In the last week, Pakistani security forces have detained close to 300 people, prompting Pakistan's Islamist opposition parties to call for nationwide protests today against the authorities' crackdown.

The vast majority of those detained were picked up in countrywide raids on private houses and madrasas, or Muslim religious schools, during the past two days. None, according to British diplomats in Islamabad, had anything to do with the London bombings two weeks ago.

"No one connected to the London bombings has been arrested in Pakistan during the past 48 hours," Peter Wilson, political counsellor at the British High Commission, said.

Other media quoted the British embassy's high commissioner, Mark Lyall-Grant, as saying that no arrests linked to the bombings had been made in Pakistan since the attacks on July 7.

Security officials said on Wednesday they had on Monday arrested Haroon Rashid Aswad, a man reportedly wanted for questioning in London in connection with the bombings.

The Daily Times newspaper reported yesterday that a Haroon Rashid had been picked up but it was not the same man.

Mr Musharraf said that while three of the London bombers may have been of Pakistani descent, they were born and brought up in Britain, where extremist Islamist organisations also existed.