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Describing banned terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) as part of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Al-Qaeda Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik as admitted that South Punjab, where more than 44 percent of country's madrassas are, was fast becoming a terror hub. Talking to reporters after visiting the Model Town mosque here, which was attacked by the Taliban on Friday along with another mosque belonging to the Ahmedia sect, Malik said the attackers, who carried out the ghastly terror siege of the two mosques killing over 80 people, had their roots in Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Malik said that following the 'successful' military operations in Swat and FATA, the government was now chalking out a strategy to dismantle the terror network in South Punjab. "Out of 1,764 persons associated with the two banned religious outfits, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Muhammad, 726 belonged to South Punjab," The Nation quoted Malik, as saying. "Forces working on agenda to destabilise Pakistan have started their activities in the heart of Pakistan (Punjab), after being defeated in Swat and FATA. Terrorists won't be able to demoralise us as government is determined to launch more attacks against the terrorists," he said. While hinting that the madrassas in Punjab were the root cause of the expanding terrorism in the province, Malik said the government would set up an authority to regulate the religious seminaries, where uniform syllabus with subjects like English and Mathematics would be taught. "Religious schools would not be allowed to give admission to foreign students," he added.

Madrassas in Pak Punjab becoming breeding grounds for terror, admits Malik