Pakistani leader bans terrorist groups

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared Saturday that Pakistan will not be a base for terrorism and banned two extremist groups accused in an attack on India's parliament. Police raided religious schools and mosques and arrested more than 300 suspected militants.

There was no immediate reaction from the Indian government to the televised speech, in which Musharraf tried to defuse a crisis over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that has pushed the neighboring nuclear powers to the brink of war.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, who will visit the region shortly, hailed Musharraf's "bold and principled stand" and said he believed the basis now exists "for the resolution of tensions between India and Pakistan through diplomatic and peaceful means."

In his hour-long address to the nation, Musharraf vowed that "no organization will be allowed to indulge in terrorism behind the garb of the Kashmiri cause. ... We will take strict action against any Pakistani who is involved in terrorism inside the country or abroad."

Musharraf also announced a crackdown on religious extremists in his country who had supported Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida movement. In addition to the two Kashmiri groups, he banned three Pakistani Muslim organizations, including one that sent members to fight alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Sealing off offices

Hours after the speech, police and militants reported authorities were sealing offices of all five extremist organizations throughout the country. Several militants were taken into custody, police said.

Musharraf spelled out new regulations for mosques and religious schools -- long considered a breeding ground for religious extremism. He also announced plans to review the status of foreign teachers and students at Pakistani religious schools.

"If in any mosque there is any political activities or any other ... extremism, then we will take strong action," Musharraf declared. He warned Muslim clerics to "spread the good points of Islam" or "there will be strong action against them."

The speech had been widely anticipated in hopes it would defuse mounting tensions with India that began with the Oct. 1 suicide bombing at the legislature building in Indian Kashmir and escalated on Dec. 13, when five armed gunmen stormed the Indian Parliament complex. Fourteen, including the five attackers, were killed.

India accused Pakistan and two Kashmiri separatist groups for the December attack and dispatched hundreds of thousands to the border. Pakistan responded with its own buildup and warned it would resist any Indian incursions. That raised the prospect of an armed confrontation between two countries.