Pakistan clamps down on Jaish-e-Mohammad, shuts its seminaries

In a display of willingness to act on Indian concerns, Pakistani authorities have shut down several religious schools run by Jaish-e-Mohammad, the terror outfit believed by India to have orchestrated the 2 January attack on an IAF base in Pathankot. The information comes from statements given to Reuters by Punjab province law minister Rana Sanaullah.

The crackdown in Punjab province follows the arrests of several Jaish members this week, including leader Maulana Masood Azhar.

"Officials of the Counter-Terrorism Department raided the Jamiatul Nur seminary in the Daska area on Thursday and arrested more than a dozen people," Mr Sanaullah told Reuters.

"The seminary has been sealed off and documents and literature have been confiscated from the premises."

The minister also said that several other offices and seminaries run by Azhar's organisation had also been raided and shut down, with many of its staff arrested. He declined to share further details.

India has demanded that the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan take action against Jaish-e-Mohammad in the wake of the Pathankot attack. On Thursday, it was announced that the two countries would reschedule foreign secretary-level talks while the probe into the airbase attack was underway.