Pakistan rules out offensive against Punjab militants

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik has stressed that no plans for military action against militants in Punjab province.

His remarks came hours after he told a parliamentary committee that "Punjabi Taliban" were entrenched in the south of Punjab.

Malik said they were planning to destabilize the country.

Few Pakistani officials have acknowledged the existence of the militant bases in Punjab, despite media reports.

In recent years Pakistan has been conducting a bitter battle against militants in the north of the country.

Any suggestion that the war is now spreading to the rest of Pakistan would rise to concerns about the stability of the country - both at home and abroad.
"Effective action '

Malik's remarks come days after militants more than 90 people slain in attacks on two mosques of the Muslim minority Ahmedi community in Lahore.
The attacks are attributed to the so-called Punjabi Taliban, a loose alliance of militant groups linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda militants in northwestern tribal areas of Pakistan.

The Chief Minister Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, accused Mr Malik of "provincialism" for his use of the term "Taliban Punjab.

This is the first time a top minister has acknowledged that the militant bases in southern Punjab province, where more than half the population of the country houses.

"No military operation is planned for the forbidden [militant] outfits in Punjab ... [but] effective measures were together [with the Punjab government] should be to eliminate them," the official APP news agency quoted him as Pakistani journalists tell Wednesday.

Earlier, while briefing a parliamentary assembly of the interior, Mr Malik said the group "Punjabi Taliban were involved in attacks in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and elsewhere in Punjab province.

He said these groups were anchored in Punjab and were more dangerous.

Most parliamentarians from southern Punjab are reluctant publicly to the existence of the militants there, presumably for reasons of personal safety to admit.

The ruling party of Punjab province, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also tried to media reports that Taliban fighters from the province of Punjab can be hiding places to drive.

A top minister of Punjab, Rana Sanaullah, recently attracted criticism for seeking the support of a militant group, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, during a by-election in March.