Extremists slipping away

It is indeed a cause of concern that the security intelligence and police dragnet have been narrowed down considerably to catch only the remaining members of JMB while ignoring the equally dangerous extremist elements of other outfits. In this connection citizens also want to know the outcome of the grilling of Mufti Hannan, the mastermind of Harkatul Jihad, who has been taken on remand for a record number of time. Why other members of the same outfit have not been tracked down by now remains a puzzling question. Incidentally, Harkatul Jihad is considered the oldest extremist group in the country that has many bombings and killings to its credit.

Many political analysts are apt to construe that the political cost of tracking down these elements might prove too high. Such notion, if at all entertained, would be very much misplaced because the people want them behind bars. If the religiously motivated extremist elements are not stopped on their track now, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to hold also the elections in a peaceful manner. There is the likelihood that these die-hard elements will create disorder around the polling booths in a bid to sabotage the election.

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Therefore, we urge the government to have the law enforcing agencies expand their dragnet so that none of the activists of the outlawed parties may slip through.