Pakistani extremists joining Taliban, Al Qaeda: Rehman Malik

LAHORE - Several banned extremist outfits in Pakistan have now become part of Taliban and Al Qaeda and are working together to destabilise the country, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Sunday.

Extremists belonging to outlawed outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Sipah-e-Sahaba received training in Pakistan’s northwestern Waziristan tribal region and have now formally joined Taliban and Al Qaeda, Malik said.

“They had been in hiding in southern parts of Punjab and now have surfaced and expanded their terror network upto Balochistan province,” Malik was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Earlier, the interior minister visited the mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect, which were attacked Friday.

At least 93 people were killed and over 100 others injured in the attacks on two places of worship in Lahore, capital of Punjab province.

Punjabi Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, a statement from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), emailed to media organisations Saturday, praised the Lahore attackers.

Malik said he has called a high-level meeting in Islamabad next week to chalk out a strategy to eliminate the threat to minorities from militant outfits.

The government will also introduce a “Minority Protection Bill” in parliament to protect religious minorities in the country.