ISLAMABAD—Pakistan said on March 5 it had begun a crackdown on Islamist terrorist groups, detaining 44 members of banned organizations including close relatives of the leader of a group blamed for a deadly bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir last month.
The interior ministry said it was a move to “speed up action against all proscribed organizations”. Officials said it was part of a long-planned drive against terrorist groups, not a response to Indian anger over what New Delhi calls Islamabad’s failure to rein in terrorist groups operating on Pakistani soil.
