A high-level meeting chaired by Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday decided that the Punjab government would be asked to crack down on Lashkar-e-Jhangvi havens in the province without any further delay, as most sectarian terrorism cases had been owned by the banned terrorist group. The meeting was informed that analysis done on basis of available intelligence and from strong indicators revealed that there was a strong nexus between Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and one of the factions of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
It was also observed that the TTP was involved in sectarian violence in and around Quetta for petty financial gains. The meeting observed that there were two former Harkat-al-Ansar terrorists who were supervising and handling the killings of innocent Shias. They included Asmat Maavia, who was operating in Upper Punjab and Central Punjab. The intelligence reports said it was beyond doubt that there was no religious strife between Sunnis and Shias but hostile elements were trying to create a conflict between the two sects through killings of people belonging to both communities. It noted that the Mastung area was full of elements from TTP, BLA and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The intelligence agencies also identified some of the camps of militants around the area and the FC was being accordingly directed to raid those camps without further delay.
