Pakistan said on Saturday that 800 suspected militants have now been arrested in raids following the deadly London bombings as religious groups rejected a move to expel 1,400 foreign students of Madaris.
Police arrested 200 preachers and prayer leaders after Friday sermons inciting anti-Western and sectarian hatred, raising the total in the ongoing raids to 800, a government official monitoring the crackdown told AFP.
The latest arrests came as authorities said they would act on an order by President Pervez Musharraf for foreigners or holders of dual citizen-ships to be expelled from madrassas.
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said on Saturday authorities were now checking the foreigners' visas and would cancel those still valid in order to repatriate them to their home countries.
"There are 1,400 foreign students in the madrassas in Pakistan and we have decided to send all of them back to their countries," Sherpao said.
"We have decided to repatriate them because we don't want to see our country defamed if any of these students are found involved in any terrorist activities in future."
But religious groups on Saturday voiced anger at the repatriation order.
"It is an undemocratic and unconstitutional decision by a leader who has no political support," Liaquat Baloch, deputy parliamentary leader of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, told AFP.
"He (Musharraf) is taking such cosmetic decisions to please the West and perpetuate his rule. There is nothing in our constitution that bars foreign students from getting Islamic education in Pakistan.
"This decision will defame Pakistan and hurt our relations with other Muslim countries," he said.
"Denying anyone the right to (religious) education is sheer ignorance."
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