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WORLD NEWSWednesday 30 March 2016

Hundreds of Islamic extremists
protest near Pakistan’s capital

Visitors look at the northern side at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border with North Korea, in Paju, MUNIR AHMED
South Korea. North Korea fired a short-range projectile from an area near its eastern coast on Associated Press
Tuesday, March 29, 2016, South Korean officials said, in what appears to be another weapons test ISLAMABAD (AP) — Hundreds of Islamic extremists re-
seen as a response to ongoing military drills between Washington and Seoul. sumed protests in Pakistan’s capital on Tuesday over the
execution of a man who killed a secular governor, in a
(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) show of defiance amid a government crackdown follow-
ing a suicide attack two days earlier.
South Korea: The rally by Pakistan’s Sunni Tehreek group brought more
than 10,000 protesters into the streets of Islamabad on
North Korea fired short-range projectile Sunday, where they clashed with police. On Tuesday, lo-
cal police official Mohammad Kashif said some 700 re-
KIM TONG-HYUNG projectile was a ballistic start on March 7 of the an- mained, bringing parts of the capital to a standstill.
Associated Press missile or an artillery shell, nual springtime war games The protesters are demanding strict Shariah law after the
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — said a Joint Chiefs of Staff between the United States hanging of police officer Mumtaz Qadri, who killed Gov.
North Korea fired a short- official who didn’t want to and South Korea. Salman Taseer in 2011 over his opposition to the country’s
range projectile from an be identified, citing office North Korea also launched far-ranging blasphemy laws. The protesters are also de-
area near its eastern coast rules. It was too early to tell a medium-range ballistic manding the hanging of a Christian woman Taseer had
on Tuesday, South Korean whether North Korea used missile into waters off its defended against blasphemy allegations.
officials said, in what ap- a land target to test the east coast for the first time The government had vowed to crack down on extrem-
pears to be another weap- accuracy and range of its since 2014 and touted a ism after a suicide bomber targeted Christians celebrat-
ons test seen as a response weapons or experienced new artillery system it says ing Easter in Lahore, killing more than 70 people. The at-
to ongoing military drills problems after planning a could turn the South Ko- tack was claimed by a breakaway Taliban faction that
between Washington and launch into the sea, said rean capital of Seoul into supports the Islamic State group. The army responded by
Seoul. an official from Seoul’s De- a “sea of flames.” Experts launching raids in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, of
The projectile was fired fense Ministry, who also say the North’s new artillery which Lahore is the capital.
near the North Korean didn’t want to be named launchers can fire 300-milli- Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa, the army spokesman, told a
port city of Wonsan and because of department meter shells up to 200 kilo- news conference in Islamabad that militant sleeper cells
flew about 200 kilometers rules. North Korea has fired meters (125 miles), theoreti- existed in various parts of the country and that operations
(125 miles) before crashing a slew of short-range mis- cally reaching Seoul and its were being carried out against militants, their financiers
into land northeast of the siles and artillery shells into surrounding metropolitan and abettors.
launch site, South Korean the sea and has threatened area, where nearly half of The Tehreek group behind the protests in Islamabad does
military officials said. nuclear strikes on Washing- the 50 million South Koreans not carry out militant attacks, and is not a target of the
It was unclear whether the ton and Seoul since the live.q raids.
More than 300 suspects have been detained in the past
48 hours, a security official said. Another official confirmed
nearly 300 arrests and said most of those detained were
suspected members of outlawed extremist groups. The
two officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they
were not authorized to brief journalists.
Provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah told a televised
news conference that troops and police had conducted
160 operations against militants in Punjab in the past 24
hours, saying they would continue “until the last terrorist
is eliminated.”
Sanaullah, who has faced allegations of being soft on
pro-Taliban militants, said police in recent months de-
tained 5,221 suspects but freed 5,005 because of a lack
of evidence. q